Tulane hiring police officers while laying off professors

[tpstulane]

Just heard on top of the news on WWL Radio. Tulane is holding a meeting tonight on campus safety. Nothing on the AD search however.

[threeputt]

I would say that there is a need for more police presence when you have armed robberies in the library..

[CN Hide & Seek Team]

I can count at least seven absolutely worthless academic departments in liberal arts, and "liberal' is a meaningful double meaning.

[tpstulane]

I would say that there is a need for more police presence when you have armed robberies in the library..

For sure. Sad times we live In today.

[winwave]

More police protection needed for SC from the profs who are going to want to kill him.

[OUG]

I would say that there is a need for more police presence when you have armed robberies in the library..

I believe the library one was a hoax.

There was an armed robbery in the LBC and that individual has been apprehended.

A significant portion of Tulane's revenue comes from wealthy parents willing to send their kids to New Orleans from leafy suburbs with minimal violent crime. If those parents get spooked enough by crime, that revenue will dry up very very quickly. This stuff is a cancer for a school like Tulane. The images from Katrina were bad enough to significantly disrupt admissions/enrollment strategies. With stuff actually happening on campus now, Tulane needs to be very proactive.

[OUG]

I can count at least seven absolutely worthless academic departments in liberal arts, and "liberal' is a meaningful double meaning.

I'm sure you're referring to women's studies, art history, etc.

While middle class families typically look at higher ed as an ROI issue (What are you going to do with that degree? Is it going to pay off salary-wise?) and seek courses in Engineering, Management, Accounting, etc; wealthy families do not really think of higher ed this way. I don't mean this pejoratively one way or another, but it's just something worth considering.

Look at the tuition and the demand for schools like Williams, Amherst, Wellesly, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Sarah Lawrence, etc. There's money in offering these degrees. People are willing to pay serious money for a top liberal arts education -- so even if you find it "worthless", the bean-counters and administrators at Tulane do not. Also remember that college is becoming an increasingly female-dominated world, and there are fewer females going into STEM than males. Females from wealthier families in particular are less likely to see themselves as future breadwinners, so it isn't absurd from their standpoint to study women's studies or art history. I'd be interested to see the proportion of families paying full-cost to Tulane in the aforementioned "liberal arts" programs vice business and other programs. I bet that would explain why those departments will survive. And should survive, if you're looking at it from a financial perspective.

Also, at an elite school like Tulane, getting a liberal arts degree is often a sign of being well-rounded to elite employers. I know an art history major from UVA that now has an MBA and does marketing campaigns for large corporations. College is a different path for everyone.

[jonathanjoseph]

I can count at least seven absolutely worthless academic departments in liberal arts, and "liberal' is a meaningful double meaning.

I'm sure you're referring to women's studies, art history, etc.

While middle class families typically look at higher ed as an ROI issue (What are you going to do with that degree? Is it going to pay off salary-wise?) and seek courses in Engineering, Management, Accounting, etc; wealthy families do not really think of higher ed this way. I don't mean this pejoratively one way or another, but it's just something worth considering.

Look at the tuition and the demand for schools like Williams, Amherst, Wellesly, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Sarah Lawrence, etc. There's money in offering these degrees. People are willing to pay serious money for a top liberal arts education -- so even if you find it "worthless", the bean-counters and administrators at Tulane do not. Also remember that college is becoming an increasingly female-dominated world, and there are fewer females going into STEM than males. Females from wealthier families in particular are less likely to see themselves as future breadwinners, so it isn't absurd from their standpoint to study women's studies or art history. I'd be interested to see the proportion of families paying full-cost to Tulane in the aforementioned "liberal arts" programs vice business and other programs. I bet that would explain why those departments will survive. And should survive, if you're looking at it from a financial perspective.

Also, at an elite school like Tulane, getting a liberal arts degree is often a sign of being well-rounded to elite employers. I know an art history major from UVA that now has an MBA and does marketing campaigns for large corporations. College is a different path for everyone.

Liberal arts degrees from anywhere, including places like Tulane and Vassar, are considered more and more irrelevant with each passing day. So is the traditional "career path" and the workforce at "large corporations". These are secular shifts that Tulane remains on the wrong side of.

The notion that there will be indefinite demand for people to throw away $250K on a 4 year experience that does not prepare them for a profession is not rooted in common sense or basic economics. An academic credential from a recognized institution of higher education used to be scarce and valuable. It is now neither.

[Wave755]

I can count at least seven absolutely worthless academic departments in liberal arts, and "liberal' is a meaningful double meaning.

I'm sure you're referring to women's studies, art history, etc.

While middle class families typically look at higher ed as an ROI issue (What are you going to do with that degree? Is it going to pay off salary-wise?) and seek courses in Engineering, Management, Accounting, etc; wealthy families do not really think of higher ed this way. I don't mean this pejoratively one way or another, but it's just something worth considering.

Look at the tuition and the demand for schools like Williams, Amherst, Wellesly, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Sarah Lawrence, etc. There's money in offering these degrees. People are willing to pay serious money for a top liberal arts education -- so even if you find it "worthless", the bean-counters and administrators at Tulane do not. Also remember that college is becoming an increasingly female-dominated world, and there are fewer females going into STEM than males. Females from wealthier families in particular are less likely to see themselves as future breadwinners, so it isn't absurd from their standpoint to study women's studies or art history. I'd be interested to see the proportion of families paying full-cost to Tulane in the aforementioned "liberal arts" programs vice business and other programs. I bet that would explain why those departments will survive. And should survive, if you're looking at it from a financial perspective.

Also, at an elite school like Tulane, getting a liberal arts degree is often a sign of being well-rounded to elite employers. I know an art history major from UVA that now has an MBA and does marketing campaigns for large corporations. College is a different path for everyone.

Liberal arts degrees from anywhere, including places like Tulane and Vassar, are considered more and more irrelevant with each passing day. So is the traditional "career path" and the workforce at "large corporations". These are secular shifts that Tulane remains on the wrong side of.

The notion that there will be indefinite demand for people to throw away $250K on a 4 year experience that does not prepare them for a profession is not rooted in common sense or basic economics. An academic credential from a recognized institution of higher education used to be scarce and valuable. It is now neither.

I disagree, education is an "end in itself," many of my fondest Tulane classes are for philosophy & art. There is nothing better than a liberal arts education.

[HoustonWave]

I can count at least seven absolutely worthless academic departments in liberal arts, and "liberal' is a meaningful double meaning.

Amen.

[HoustonWave]

I can count at least seven absolutely worthless academic departments in liberal arts, and "liberal' is a meaningful double meaning.

I'm sure you're referring to women's studies, art history, etc.

While middle class families typically look at higher ed as an ROI issue (What are you going to do with that degree? Is it going to pay off salary-wise?) and seek courses in Engineering, Management, Accounting, etc; wealthy families do not really think of higher ed this way. I don't mean this pejoratively one way or another, but it's just something worth considering.

Look at the tuition and the demand for schools like Williams, Amherst, Wellesly, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Sarah Lawrence, etc. There's money in offering these degrees. People are willing to pay serious money for a top liberal arts education -- so even if you find it "worthless", the bean-counters and administrators at Tulane do not. Also remember that college is becoming an increasingly female-dominated world, and there are fewer females going into STEM than males. Females from wealthier families in particular are less likely to see themselves as future breadwinners, so it isn't absurd from their standpoint to study women's studies or art history. I'd be interested to see the proportion of families paying full-cost to Tulane in the aforementioned "liberal arts" programs vice business and other programs. I bet that would explain why those departments will survive. And should survive, if you're looking at it from a financial perspective.

Also, at an elite school like Tulane, getting a liberal arts degree is often a sign of being well-rounded to elite employers. I know an art history major from UVA that now has an MBA and does marketing campaigns for large corporations. College is a different path for everyone.

Liberal arts degrees from anywhere, including places like Tulane and Vassar, are considered more and more irrelevant with each passing day. So is the traditional "career path" and the workforce at "large corporations". These are secular shifts that Tulane remains on the wrong side of.

The notion that there will be indefinite demand for people to throw away $250K on a 4 year experience that does not prepare them for a profession is not rooted in common sense or basic economics. An academic credential from a recognized institution of higher education used to be scarce and valuable. It is now neither.

+1000. And I bet even those wealthy families are more concerned about their sons/daughters safety, than whether they have learned the latest revisionist version of Greek philosophy.

[Show Me]

Saw some of the students interviewed on TV and it was sad. Many said they already knew that New Orleans was very unsafe but thought at least they were safe on campus. Now they don't feel that way. Looks like all Tulane is doing is bringing in the Landmark Security guards with the yellow shirts that work at Yulman. They need to hire real police!