October 11, 2012

As Tensions Mount Between Flagships and States, Data Can Be a Wedge or a Bridge

Data Can Be a Wedge Between Flagships and States 1

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A recent report showed that the U. of Tennessee at Knoxville spends $41,000 per student, about double what other institutions in the state system spend. But flagships often have expensive research and doctoral programs that other colleges lack.

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A recent report showed that the U. of Tennessee at Knoxville spends $41,000 per student, about double what other institutions in the state system spend. But flagships often have expensive research and doctoral programs that other colleges lack.

By Dan Berrett

For at least a decade the ties binding flagship universities to their states have been weakening while state appropriations shrink as a share of those institutions' budgets. Now policy makers' growing appetite for measurement and accountability could further strain the relationship.

The impulse to rely on easily calculated measurements to judge a college's worth often makes sense in the abstract, but it can