Ethics and a Fair Chance: Are academic administrators foiling their own chances of increasing fundraising dollars?
Prologue
Did you know you could buy an internship for $5000.? Or, more realistically, your parents could buy it for you?
Did you know some students who are here illegally can receive scholarships to go to school for free?
Did you know some schools would prefer to not issue internship credit so you can gain work experience?
Neither did I, and that is why I felt compelled to address these issues today. So, I will stray a bit from my normal rant to fill you in on some news you may have missed. But first, to place my opinion in perspective it might be important to note that aside from my current gig, I too wrestled my way through college like millions of others, paid my own way through school, and still continue to educate myself formally today. Unlike most, though, I have also been an academic and career advisor, and have had the amazing opportunity to meet and help hundreds of other students manage the process of getting through their college careers with spirit still intact. So each of these articles I’ll mention below struck a chord with me, and after weeks of wanting to write about it, today’s article finally sent my fingers to the keyboard. So here we go!
A Question of Purpose
Lately I have been puzzled and sometimes stunned by what I have been reading in the Wall Street Journal. First, Miriam Jordan wrote about brilliant, but illegal, Princeton Salutatorian Dan-el Padilla Peralta, whose captivating story of persistence and academic genius is the stuff movies are made of. Read it here: If you haven’t read it, I believe you’ll be amazed by some of what is said.
Then Ellen Gamerman’s article entitled “Now up for bid: Plum Internships” was published. In it, she highlights the new and interesting practice of auctioning-off “internships” at top companies to benefit the charitable wings of elite educational institutions and the students who attend them. As someone who participated in internships for years to make headway in the music industry for little or no money, reading her article hit me so hard it was as if someone had driven their fist straight through my stomach wall. Read it here:
Then today, Anne Marie Chaker took me down for the count with her article: “Summer Internships Can Carry A Price”, which details how academic credit is often required now for internships so companies can abide by Labor Laws. What this means, though, is that in the process of doing so, students may often have to pay thousands of dollars in tuition for the opportunity to work for free. Read a syndicated version here:
The real consequence of short-sightedness
What amazes me about each one of these stories is how often we seem to be missing the big picture, and, how at least in these three pieces, the people missing that picture reside in our academic institutions.
For example, how can it be, that former Princeton Dean of Admissions Fred Hargadon feels comfortable publicly stating Mr. Padilla “could have been from the moon and I would have admitted him.”? Isn’t Mr. Hargadon aware there thousands of equally brilliant students of different races and ethnicities who dream of going to Princeton — and attempt to do so legally? What about those students? Is it right to ignore the law and one’s own sensibility, merely because one student seems to be exceptional? I have no issue with Mr. Padilla Peralta himself. The shocking detachment from ethics is what really grabs me in this case.
And what of Ms. Gamerman’s bombshell about schools selling off donated internships to the highest bidder? As internships become more important to each of our students’ future, does it make sense to allow anyone who can afford to buy an internship for their child to actually do so? Nepotism will always be around for sure, but this seems ridiculous to me. Does the school not recognize that by adding several thousand dollars to their development coffers and making one teenager and her parents happy, they have at the same time disappointed the rest of their student body and their parents? This story was so unbelievable to me. Unfortunately, in the end, I couldn’t really place a finger on which group I was more upset with: our schools or our companies. So many hardworking, passionate students who would make great interns are being overlooked for God-knows what reason. The perception that money means brilliance I thought died a very long time ago.
And finally, today’s WSJ article left me again struggling to understand why administrators at some institutions would rather remain so firm on the idea that academic credit is to be given only for so-called “academic” courses, that in doing so they would prevent their student population from earning internships that require credit. Having known many a graduate student who received independent study credit for merely assembling a bibliography, I see no reason why an internship is not given the same weight. Are we talking about learning, or are we merely discussing learning that is done in an institutional setting? In today’s world they are not as far removed from one another as we might first think.
Epilouge
Schools need to realize that their students are their CUSTOMERS, and when they respect those customers, they will reap the rewards that come from doing so. This point is heavily debated in academia, and I’ve always been puzzled as to why, really. After all, one can make the leap from student to customer rather quickly, and that leap can be viewed very clearly from the sidelines. All we need to do is watch what happens when the student actually graduates from the school they have paid a small fortune to attend.
Who is it that sends the first letter congratulating them on their commencement? Their favorite teacher? Their fellow students? Nope.
Who follows up dutifully six months out. . .a year out. . .five years out. . .to remind that student of their proud experiences at their alma mater?
I think we all know who I’m referring to, right? Correct. The Alumni Association.
Come on, guys. It’s really simple. If you can’t look at the students as your customers when they’re a captive audience and paying tuition, why is it so easy to view them as customers when they’re no longer paying and MUCH, MUCH harder to influence?
When was the last time you donated? (Note: I am actually an active member of my alum association, and believe firmly that changes can and should be made to better serve the administration AND its students!)
Please, Administrators: know your audience!
P.S. For further fodder, please read Zachary M. Seward’s intriguing article about how Alumni magazines want more “Rah, Rah from their magazines in order to bring in more alumni support! Read it here:
Cheers,
Doc Kane, Roscommon
Doc Kane is the president of Roscommon, a Chicago-based marketing communications firm that helps clients outsource their writing needs. Essentially, if it’s got words, Roscommon can help. His firm has the privilege of writing for some of the world’s most recognizable brands, including Abbott Labs and Aon Corporation, as well as a good number of small businesses and experts making a lot of noise in their own backyards. Doc has also been heavily involved in Internet marketing since 1994, and continues to help small businesses market themselves online via web content and SEO. You can visit Roscommon online at: www.roscommon.com
