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raven4747 t1_jci4nhk wrote

trust me when I say PSU is crooked as all hell at the top levels. 3+ years of serving in student government really left me disillusioned. there are students (and staff) that are driving themselves crazy trying to make the university better while the administrators & board of trustees could give less of a shit bc they are all making their millions.

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VenomB t1_jckfj4j wrote

I have 3 buddies who work at PSU. One is in HR and the other two are programmers in different departments. They all complain of the same things. The entire university is mismanaged, bloated, and being sucked dry by the people who refuse to accept that people working at a public university shouldn't be making millions.

Make millions in sports, make millions in tuition, ask for millions from alumni who paid tuition, then they go and build stupid-ass buildings that are art projects that end up costing more to maintain than the cost to build the stupid thing.

All 3 of them have been playing with the idea of jumping ship.

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raven4747 t1_jckftu1 wrote

I can tell you, the satellite campus I attended has lost around 10-15 established professionals over the past 5 years. it's nowhere near the same campus that it was when I attended, and everyone who is left is just exhausted from having to do the work of 3-4 people since PSU doesn't know how to post competitive job listings or actually hire qualified people.

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contagiousaresmiles t1_jckvaak wrote

This seems to be the problem with every leader or senate in this state. I quit voting over the same corrupt b.s.. how do we change this revolving problem? Something needs to be done. Us people of Pennsylvania are living on pennies, pay check to pay check. The children are not learning from the payout after payout the schools take on. Every problem Pennsylvania runs into has to do with someone holding office. It's time for a change! We can't change nothing when our electives only care about making more money for themselves and to hell with the rest. Pennsylvania needs a major change.

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SlightlyAnnoyed7 t1_jckkvwc wrote

Yeah my mom was on a ten year track for her program but then they gutted the special ed department many people there were forced to retire, including her and 4 other potential ten yeared staff. Said the dean and upper levels didn’t give a shit about gutting certain departments and leaving people without a job without a buck. She also said she’s worked for some shitty professors with track records of sexism, racism, and very poor teaching quality, and the university kept them on because of the money they brought in for research grants. Corrupt large school and I’m glad I didn’t go there.

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raven4747 t1_jcklfl4 wrote

for me, I'm happy I went there for a number of reasons, but among the most prominent is that I was able to see what this type of corruption and corporate apathy actually looks like (because spoiler alert: it is EVERYWHERE in the modern American workplace). I learned to navigate it while I was in school and that has made my work life a lot easier and less stressful tbh.

still, I would not recommend my younger family members to attend PSU by any means.

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I_DESTROY_HUMMUS t1_jcpyebe wrote

I'm happy I went there, but I will never donate to the school. And I'm not gonna try to convince people to go there

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Super_C_Complex t1_jcl0m0t wrote

You also have to figure in that the state hasn't increased funding for public schools since 2008

So call it corruption, or mismanagement. But the administration isn't bleeding the school dry. Republicans are

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raven4747 t1_jcl1920 wrote

another spoiler alert: most of the admins at that level are Republicans lol

edit to add: your statement is also blatantly false, which is easily confirmed through a quick search. PSU has a thing called Advocate Day where students go to Harrisburg and talk to the PA representatives & senators to essentially ask for more money. I attended more than once. PSU definitely gets enough money from the state, and until the administration actually shows they are spending the money in the direct interest of students, I don't think we should line their pockets with more taxpayer money..

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Super_C_Complex t1_jcl4de4 wrote

Sorry, you're right. Penn state actually gets less money from the state than it did in 2008.

https://budget.psu.edu/BotJuly/BoardDocuments%2022-23/bargraph.aspx

But sure. Let's say you have to spend less before the state properly funds a fucking state university.

This is the bullshit reason penn state is so expensive. Cuts to funding or general decrease in funding per student but then blatantly false allegations of overpaid administrators.

Bendapudi isn't making a million a year.
Buildings are necessary.
Professors are underpaid and penn state relies heavily on graduate and temporary professors because the state isn't funding it.

If, in a per student basis, Pennsylvania gave as much adjusted for inflation as it did in the 70s, tuition would be like 5k

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raven4747 t1_jcl58su wrote

President Barron did make $1.8mil during Covid. how is that not overpaid? you're a unique type of bootlicker.

edit: spelling

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Excelius t1_jcl6ovx wrote

This is the narrative that school administrators have been pushing for decades. That runaway tuition inflation is simply because politicians aren't being generous enough with taxpayer dollars.

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Super_C_Complex t1_jclk57f wrote

Because it's true.

If you look at penn states expenses, tuition has gone up directly inverse to state funding.

State funding is lower now than 15 years ago

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aust_b t1_jchjv0j wrote

So they are laying off folks when they are actively posting at least 20 jobs a day, makes sense lol

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Modestkilla t1_jchz4xh wrote

Sure does, they are just another greedy corporation, I mean “university “. They will cut higher paid individuals and higher much lower ones.

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cyvaquero t1_jck9q9j wrote

I mean, they aren't mutually exclusive. Aside from the budget not being a single monolithic pot in either sources of funding or use requirements, a line cook at the dining halls is not much good as a machinist at ARL and vice versa. Or to throw my old job under the buss, as a Systems Designer I would make a shitty Office Admin.

Just know that the layoffs will be in student services staff and facility jobs (while mandating overtime of those left, not in faculty or management. As a local, former staffer, and alum I am very familiar with how this plays out. Executive and faculty positions and pay are protected while those on the lower end of the compensation scale get cut.

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VenomB t1_jckfstu wrote

But they had a hiring freeze in place. Through that hiring freeze, all of the academics made their jobs "high priority," which allowed them to hire through the freeze. And on top of that, they have 40+ executive level positions currently available.

​

Its a mess all around.

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cyvaquero t1_jcmu0ls wrote

Just going to reiterate, not all funding is equal. Academics are usually hiring from grant funding, salaries are baked into the grant proposal.

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No-Butterscotch4549 t1_jck96zk wrote

It does from a financial perspective. Get rid of older higher salaried employees and replace with new starting salary employees. Sucks but that’s how the game is played.

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gmm1978 t1_jckn9qr wrote

It's a shame, but it looks like many workers at Penn State are not in a union. A strong union could help many of these issues.

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SSFx93 t1_jcigbd9 wrote

And tuition will still go up because they're greedy as hell.

Makes sense.

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CltAltAcctDel t1_jchb1bd wrote

It should be all administrators.

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Pink_Slyvie t1_jci8mbr wrote

They should sell the football stadium. They are a sports empire with a side hustle in education.

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gmm1978 t1_jcjsdey wrote

As much as you may not like it, the football team brings in way more money than it costs. Alumni network is strong in large part because of football and other sports, thats not the problem. Penn State is a land grant University, so that means non-profit. When costs go up and revenues do not, something has to be done. Yes, they probably have top heavy people who make a lot more than the average worker, so they can be slashed a bit. Another thing to keep in mind is college enrollment is declining because we simply don't have as many young people between 18-24. The infrastructure of the school was built and people hired to handle a full University. Also keeping in mind, they have almost 15 branch campuses to fund. Most of workers laid will probably get back in one way or another.

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GTholla t1_jck2akt wrote

I feel like it's a little disingenuous to say young people aren't going to college because there's less of us. As a person in that age range, no matter how much I may want to go to college, it's just not feasible to do so when you can't find a job that pays more than 14$ an hour and most of that goes to rent and food :(

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gmm1978 t1_jck33n1 wrote

What i am saying is simply statistical. Because we have less people in the 18-24 age range, means less are going to college. They're still going, except there is not as many in the population.

If you want to go to school you can. Maybe you can't go away to school, maybe you have to start a community college part time. Its simply not accurate you can't make it happen, if you really want it. Stop listening to all the people saying how difficult it is. Life is difficult. The good news your young, this is the time to go after it. I put myself through school with no help from anyone. Don't say you can't, because you can.

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GTholla t1_jck4nd7 wrote

I appreciate that you think that, but when you have 40$ left over at the end of every week, and the closest community college costs 10k in tuition, it's just really not doable. I understand you did it, but that does not mean I have the same means or circumstances as you.

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gmm1978 t1_jck5oh2 wrote

I have been there before. When you have to pay with change to put gas in your car. I would not say this to a young person lightly. It may not be want we want to do, but there is financial aid. Yes, it's ugly and it can put you into debt. But if you're responsible and invest in yourself, it can work. Most schools have jobs on campus you can make a few extra bucks between classes. Its not for everyone, but joim the National Guard. Tuition will be basically free at State schools including most community colleges. Don't be discouraged until you look at everything thats out there. Then you have to be willing to put that extra time and work into it. Do that, commit to that and you will move yourself forward. Maybe not as fast, but you can make slow and steady progress.

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drxdrg08 t1_jckm60q wrote

> What i am saying is simply statistical.

You are on Reddit.

If 2+2=4 could somehow be interpreted as anti-agenda, you would be down voted.

Reddit is where dumb people come to confirm their biases.

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enemy_of_your_enema t1_jckdxjv wrote

>As much as you may not like it, the football team brings in way more money than it costs.

This is a little bit misleading. Yes, PSU football probably does bring in more money than it costs, but often that money is used to subsidize the rest of the athletics department, rather than lowering tuition costs. And while PSU may be included in the tiny minority of schools whose football programs are profitable, the vast majority of schools lose money on football.

And of course, PSU couldn't have a football program if there weren't lots of other teams to play against, so it doesn't make sense to limit the analysis to just a single school. On the whole, college football in the US loses more money than it brings it. On the whole, the system is taxpayer and student-subsidized entertainment in what should be an educational system.

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VenomB t1_jckgaze wrote

>On the whole, the system is taxpayer and student-subsidized entertainment in what should be an educational system.

I was just bitching to my buddy about this yesterday. What the FUCK is the point of college? What do these sports have to do with it?

Its all because instead of college football being a fun time and something to do, it became corporatized and tied in with professional football. College hasn't been about higher learning for a long time now.

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enemy_of_your_enema t1_jckguwo wrote

To be clear, I think this all only really applies to bigger schools that have big sports programs. There are plenty of colleges and universities out there that are primarily about academics and whose athletics programs are about giving students opportunities for exercise, recreation, and growth rather than being focused on selling tickets and merch.

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drxdrg08 t1_jckmnu9 wrote

> College hasn't been about higher learning for a long time now.

You are projecting.

Like everything else, college is what you yourself decide it to be.

You can play sports, you can drink 24/7, or you can study hard.

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VenomB t1_jclo9aq wrote

I left PSU after a single summer semester because it was such shit.

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Fstmiddy t1_jchxltb wrote

C-Suite first.

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drxdrg08 t1_jchyirp wrote

Chief Diversity Officer and that whole office?

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Fstmiddy t1_jchyzgx wrote

"C-Suite" means executive level. Idk what you're on about.

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CltAltAcctDel t1_jcijut9 wrote

He’s probably referring to schools like U of Michigan and OSU who have 142 and 132 DIE employees respectively.

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8Draw t1_jcj298m wrote

Just had to signal how much fox you watch apropos of nothing?

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saintofhate t1_jchv4nk wrote

I didn't see it listed in the article because I might have read it too quickly but did they mention how much money they're cutting out the sports? College should be about education not giving kids body / brain damage for life. And considering the huge pedophile scandal that happened a few years ago you would think they would actually do something else instead of focus on sports.

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Fstmiddy t1_jchxv8k wrote

If it's anything like most colleges, those are two completely different revenue streams.

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STLLC2019 t1_jci5c0u wrote

Colleges and universities today are little more than Pro-Am sports teams that occasionally waste their "student" athletes time with classes. The rest of the school literally exists to support the sports teams. Especially Basketball and Football.

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Jonrah98 t1_jckikgw wrote

Eventually Penn State will ditch the "education" part of its portfolio because it's a money loser and will focus on its core business, which is running semi-professional sports teams.

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bludstone t1_jck5k6k wrote

dont worry guys, im sure the administrators pensions will be fine. I know this is what we were all concerned about.

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writergeek313 t1_jck8a5w wrote

From a December 2021 Sports Illustrated article: “Penn State's board approved a five-year contract worth $1.3 million annually, which includes a $950,000 base salary and $350,000 in supplemental retirement contributions.”

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LowPermission9 t1_jdc005j wrote

Sounds familiar. My company hired a bunch of expensive executives and then laid off staff to pay for them.

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vasquca1 t1_jcl2a41 wrote

Anyone spot the monkey see, monkey do happening here. Tech is firing folks, let me in unrelated fashion do the same but not really adresss my poor leadership which is the main problem.

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RipTide275 t1_jcp9fer wrote

Everyone making over 100k cut their pay by 10%. Everyone making under 100k cut by 3%. If anyone leaves replace them with lower salaries employee, or don’t replace at all Problem solved

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