5 ms·

First time I've encountered the term McKinseyfied in the context of academia, can you elaborate on that?

brighton36 6y ago
Prestige as a product. Which, is increasingly the function of the university.
scroot 6y ago
I believe that the poster means that the University system (in the US at least) has been overtaken by "management theory" over the past four decades or so. This is the same theory prominent in business schools / MBA programs. As a consequence we see the vast expansion of academic bureaucracy, completely different metrics for "success," and an attitude towards students that treats them as customers rather than pupils. It's worth noting that the core aspects of academia have been either pushed out or dramatically altered. Universities might be flush with cash, but they do not pay their teachers (it's no coincidence that adjunctification of the system begins with the management theory era). Professors are left to fight for resources that are being spent elsewhere: on sustaining a much larger bureaucracy (this or that "provost"), or on ancillary services like college sports or other customer-focussed amenities.
- alpineidyll3 6y ago
  Better than I could have said it
- noobermin 6y ago
  I want to believe this won't be sustainable but given the demand for college increasing every year it looks like it will continue until something cracks.
alpineidyll3 6y ago
University governance has been aligned by dollars to departments like the business school, which literally didn't exist just a few decades ago. Provost's plan using dollars as the metric of value. These changes have completely changed what the word university means, although these institutions have the same names. Here's an academic account: https://www.aaup.org/article/rise-and-coming-demise-corporate-university https://www.aaup.org/article/rise-and-coming-demise-corporat... For easier digestion Scott Galloway is spot on (Prof at nyu) https://youtu.be/d8kwzSTITP0 https://youtu.be/d8kwzSTITP0

Prestige as a product. Which, is increasingly the function of the university.

I believe that the poster means that the University system (in the US at least) has been overtaken by "management theory" over the past four decades or so. This is the same theory prominent in business schools / MBA programs. As a consequence we see the vast expansion of academic bureaucracy, completely different metrics for "success," and an attitude towards students that treats them as customers rather than pupils. It's worth noting that the core aspects of academia have been either pushed out or dramatically altered. Universities might be flush with cash, but they do not pay their teachers (it's no coincidence that adjunctification of the system begins with the management theory era). Professors are left to fight for resources that are being spent elsewhere: on sustaining a much larger bureaucracy (this or that "provost"), or on ancillary services like college sports or other customer-focussed amenities.

alpineidyll3 6y ago
Better than I could have said it
noobermin 6y ago
I want to believe this won't be sustainable but given the demand for college increasing every year it looks like it will continue until something cracks.

alpineidyll3 6y ago

University governance has been aligned by dollars to departments like the business school, which literally didn't exist just a few decades ago. Provost's plan using dollars as the metric of value. These changes have completely changed what the word university means, although these institutions have the same names. Here's an academic account: https://www.aaup.org/article/rise-and-coming-demise-corporate-university https://www.aaup.org/article/rise-and-coming-demise-corporat... For easier digestion Scott Galloway is spot on (Prof at nyu) https://youtu.be/d8kwzSTITP0 https://youtu.be/d8kwzSTITP0