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On Campus Blog
Alex Friedrich

What's those leafy campus facades are hiding

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Kenneth C. Green calls many of today's state-run colleges and universities "Potemkin villages" -- after the fake Russian villages built to impress the touring Catherine II -- because their nice campuses hide deteriorating conditions:

Not surprisingly, the mix of rising enrollments and continuing budget cuts force community colleges into a Potemkin strategy: hiring part-time faculty to meet the demand for additional classes, but not hiring the necessary support personnel – academic advisors, developmental ed specialists, vocational counselors, and instructional and IT support personnel needed to assist students and staff instructional programs. So while campus officials can report adding classes to meet demand, they are not addressing the increased pressures on the instructional and operational infrastructure that accompanies the rising enrollments.