At a sprawling institution, how can we possibly get a sense of what GW’s true priorities are? The answer: Look at the numbers.
We know that GW is significantly outspent by its competitor schools in areas such as research, instruction and academic support.
At first glance, it could seem like we have a crisis on our hands. If our money isn’t spent there, where does it go?
Where we asked it to go.
GW allocates about $900 per student more on student services than any of its competitors. That money – about $4,200 per student – goes toward services “whose primary purpose is to contribute to students’ emotional and physical wellbeing,” like intramural sports, health services, student organization budgets and the registrar. This doesn’t include other costs such as residence halls and dining.
While students might feel as though that expense is nothing in comparison to the nearly $60,000 they pay the University each year, the reality is that students need to consider what we really care about when we judge where our tuition goes.
GW is just responding to student needs, concerns and desires – perhaps more than American, Georgetown and New York universities, which don’t spend as much as GW does on student services. Even though we’re technically paying for an education, student life is a large component of our success at GW.
Students here would grumble if forced to endure the alternative.
Imagine attending a school that spends $16,000 or more per student on research, like Duke. Unless students are intimately involved in research, that’s money that most undergraduates never see. Those tuition dollars underpin the university’s research operation instead of giving students the best bang for their buck.
Though GW lists Duke as a competitor school, our university will never be similar to the research powerhouse in North Carolina. We have highly different characters and missions.
This doesn’t mean that GW doesn’t care about students’ educations. In fact, though it might be counterintuitive, investments in student services improve graduation rates and increase students’ academic success, according to researchers at Cornell University.
What do we really want, more money spent recruiting the biggest names in research? Higher salaries that will attract more prominent professors? Sure. That would be nice. But these aren’t things that I ‒ and probably most other students ‒ consider central to the GW experience. At the end of the day, the way that they truly impact students might be difficult to identify.
Important aspects of the University, like student organizations, the Lerner Health and Wellness Center, counseling, career services and countless others are clearly visible services. Tour guides show them off. Students reap clear rewards.
The day-to-day aspects of student life – going to meetings, attending events or even just safely returning to a dorm – are integral parts of our time at GW.
Though GW is outspending competitors in that category – instead of on our faculty or academic advisers – that’s okay. That’s what we asked for when we enrolled here.
Sarah Blugis, a sophomore majoring in political communication, is a Hatchet columnist.
