Long-time college administrator Bayard (By) Baylis’s thoughtful response to “Let us speak no more of rivals,” is too spot-on (and well-written, to boot) to let languish in the comments section. So it is with Baylis’s permission that I’ve elevated his comment to full-article status and first-ever guest post for Generous Matters.
During my years in higher education, I attempted to promote a mind-set of cooperation rather than competition. I must reluctantly admit that I was never very successful. The general attitude not only of development and advancement offices but especially of enrollment offices, was one of dog eat dog, survival of the fittest, and do whatever it takes to succeed.
They were all tuned into the life station WIIFM (What’s In It For Me!).
Why should I help another college by suggesting that our college might not be the best fit for particular students? If those students went to another college (even one that would serve them better), that’s fewer students for our college, and less tuition income that we desperately need.
This mentality was also prevalent among academic departments within a given college. If we lose too many students to other departments, we put ourselves in danger of obsolescence. Our existence depends upon us having a sufficient number of students.
It doesn’t matter that those students might be better served in another department. The existence of our department is more important than the needs and desires of individual students. If our department is eliminated, our jobs might be eliminated and our lives might be disrupted.
We need to work together to get more people listening to WIIFO (What’s In It For Others).
Within curricula and individual classes, it has always been my belief that learning is both an individual and a social process. There are times when individual effort and competition can both be beneficial to our mutual endeavors and to foster learning for everyone singularly and collectively. Moreover, since each of us brings a different set of experiences to bear on given situations, we need each other to expand our possible horizons. We can go farther together than alone.
I will never forget a conversation that I had with a bright and accomplished college administrator who had a reputation for almost never going to conferences. When I ask why he didn’t want to meet with administrators from other schools, his response was, “I never learn anything from them.” I wanted to respond, “You have so much to teach. Did you ever offer anything to them?”
Bayard (By) Baylis is a veteran Christian college leader, administrator, mathematics & statistics instructor, author, independent scholar, and founder and principal of HIgherEdByBaylis LLC.