Accountability as an Obligation, Not a Marketing Tool
Call me old fashioned or old school but I do not understand the present discussions concerning accountability on college campuses. The crux of the issue seems to be that universities and colleges should develop voluntary accountability measures that are easily accessible to the public before they are forced to by the government. I believe this is analogous to fast food retailers having to tell the public what eating a super sized meal will do their health or a car manufacturer having to be honest about its gas mileage. Why aren’t we publishing such data because it is the right thing to do rather than what we have to do?
I believe that we in the field of higher education are in the business of educating, I also believe in market forces. If a college or institution is not graduating its students or those that attended have found that the school was not what it promised in its promotional materials, people should know. If more people were aware of how effective we are in our core business, graduating successful students, this would be the ultimate marketing tool.
If a school lacked the ability to engage its students, or failed in graduating students at a rate comparable to its competitors, such data would serve as a motivating force to examine its practices and systems.
A lesson I strive to impart on every student I teach is this. You can fight change, invest in change or create change. The only way to lose for sure is to fight. Maybe we should spend less time fighting the concept of accountability and more time finding a way to successfully implement it on our campuses. Both our students and our institutions will be better for it.
-- Tom Hayes