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Administrative bloat, the ballooning growth of administrative functions and personnel in U.S. higher education, is the unintended consequence of several factors and can be mitigated to some extent through deliberate strategies.
ADMINISTRATIVE BLOAT
From its humble beginnings with the founding of Harvard in 1636 to educate men for the local government and clergy, the purpose of higher education in America has been to fulfill the educational needs of the populace for the benefit of American society (Harvard University, n.d.; Hudson 1939). To this day, education remains one of the central missions of colleges and universities in America. Numerous studies have been undertaken that highlight the significance of a college education and degree obtainment, demonstrating that those who have obtained a college degree earn more during their lifetime than those whose education stopped with a high school diploma (Slaper and Foston 2013).
While it is well known that a college degree positively impacts personal finance, many students face financial barriers that prevent them from attending a college or university. Countless students and their families could not, on their own, afford the cost of attendance. This not only includes tuition but also books, housing, meals, and other expenses (Mortenson 2000). To gain access to higher education, many students and families need some form of financial assistance. The federal government provided one such assistance program through the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (Bound and Turner 2002). Commonly known as the G.I. Bill, this legislation provided servicemen and women returning home from World War II $500 toward tuition and a monthly allowance for books and fees (United States Department of Veteran Affairs 2012). As a result, college enrollment increased by approximately 50 percent compared to pre-World War II numbers (Bound and Turner 2002).
The G.I. Bill placed financial power directly in the hands of students as the recipients of the grants (Bound and Turner 2002). This new paradigm of awarding aid directly to students and not to postsecondary institutions provided the blueprint for the future of federal financial aid. For example, the federal Pell Grant program launched in 1972 was intended to expand access to higher education to more Americans by awarding vouchers for financial support directly to students (Baum and Scott-Clayton 2013). The financial...