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> On the face of it, it doesn't make sense. How could, for example, a local college's administration not have become more efficient because of computers? Is th
by tshaddox 5y ago
> On the face of it, it doesn't make sense. How could, for example, a local college's administration not have become more efficient because of computers?
Is the claim from those books that the administration of small colleges has not become more efficient because of computers? I would have guessed that there are far fewer employees (per student) doing clerical work at small colleges now than before office PCs were ubiquitous.
- dalbasal 5y agoThere are more employees (per student) doing administrative work at small colleges now than before office PCs were ubiquitous. "Clerical* isn't really a term we use much now, and it's often associated with job descriptions from before the PC era. Stuff that happens in colleges, in office, that isn't academia, is generally known as administration. We have more of it, whatever you call it.
- tshaddox 5y ago"Administration" strikes me as too broad to make a reasonable comparison before and after PCs. I would expect that in the same time frame that office PCs came into existence, the roles of colleges has also expanded greatly, and if those new roles are considered as part of "administration" I don't think the comparison tells you much about the effects of computers. Are we counting things like counseling, career planning, financial aid, health (including mental health), immigration services, legal and compliance work, everything related to sports and athletics, etc.?