How Many Vice Presidents Does Any College Need? (opinion)

"Not too long ago, in the time before they became chiefs, our VPs would have been called deans, directors or, in the case of our chief financial officer, treasurer. (Indeed, some retain a dean title along with their vice presidential one-the vice president of student affairs and dean of students, or the vice president and dean of admission and financial aid.) I respect and value the work that they do, regardless of their title. I know them and am aware of their dedication to the college and the well-being of its students, faculty and staff."

"But, for a small, liberal arts college that has long been proud to go its own way in many things, including in its idiosyncratic administrative titles, that's a lot of vice presidents and associate and assistant VPs. Today, many of America's colleges and universities are grappling with the issue of grade inflation. They are coming to terms with the fact that if everyone gets an A, as Christopher Schorr argues, "grading becomes a farce." At the same time that grades have become inflated, another kind of inflation has affected our campuses. I call it the "vice presidentialization" of higher education."

Amherst College changed senior-administrator designations from "chiefs" to "vice presidents," resulting in ten VPs and fifteen other senior vice-presidential titles. Previously, many of those roles were called deans, directors or treasurer, and some officials still retain dean designations alongside vice-presidential ones. The growth in administrative titles coincides with concerns about grade inflation across American higher education. That simultaneous growth is labeled "vice presidentialization," representing a shift in power from faculty to administrators focused on protecting and managing institutional brand and reflecting an expanding administrative sector.

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