Student bondholders

As the UT Board of Trustees begins voting on the university’s budget for fiscal year 2010 tomorrow afternoon, we urge them to sincerely consider the thoughts and feelings of UT’s student body, as expressed at the student-led protests two weeks ago. With the July 1 deadline more than a month away, they should take the time to carefully deliberate over the items in the budget and amend the proposed allocations where necessary. Of course, in such a difficult period of economic uncertainty, it is important that institutions make smart financial decisions, yet, for universities, it should be expected that they strive to make the most “student-centered” decisions possible as well.

In post-industrial America, universities have continued their roles as institutions of higher learning, but they have also assumed the role of an academic corporation of sorts. Students still attend universities for intellectual enrichment, but university administrators are becoming just as concerned with the financial success of the university as they are with the intellectual and social growth of students. Though the financial success of a university is inextricably associated with the academic success of its students; in the end, it is the academic success of the students which undoubtedly determines the long-term growth of a university.

As the modern economy flourished, state governments’ roles in higher education gradually shrank. This was especially evident in the area of financing, and bondholders began to play a more important role in funding universities. We here at The Independent Collegian truly appreciate the trust bondholders have placed in UT. The main purpose of a university is not to serve the bondholder, however, but rather to serve its students. Although these market players have more nominal value invested in the university, it is the students who have invested both their tuition and time to make UT what it is today.

UT students have more than financial portfolios attached to the institution. Their entire college experience — from classes to Songfest — depends on their relationships with the university faculty and administration. Just as bondholders are in search of substantial returns on their investments, perhaps UT students are also in search of something in return for their investment: a healthier relationship with the administration.

No institution enjoys laying off employees, for this translates into an uncertain period of retraction. Yet, despite a shrinking endowment and budget, UT’s student enrollment has increased. This leaves the administrators with the challenge of restructuring the budget while at the same time nurturing a more amicable relationship with the entire student body.

The fact of the matter is that most students don’t decide on where to go for college based on a university’s budget or endowment. Rather, they make decisions based on academics and campus culture not characterized by disheartened students harboring feelings of disenfranchisement. There are over 20 thousand bondholders on UT’s campus every day, and the administration owes them a constant rate of return.