Why Is Baker College a College?
'The most recent available federal tax filings showed that in 2003-04, Baker [College] (link later) had more top executives than more complex state universities with similar enrollments. The top 38 Baker executives earned average salaries of $125,544.
Cummins' annual salary was $253,667, according to tax documents. By comparison, the presidents at Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan universities are paid $225,000 to $269,100 a year.'
Lots of executives, and generous compensation for them, yet the college they administer has a graduation rate you'd need an electron microscope to detect:
'Taxpayers are spending millions of dollars to help needy students attend Baker College, Michigan's largest private college, where the chances are about one in five that a student will walk away with a degree.
With more than 30,000 students at nine campuses around the state, Baker College received $20.3 million last year in state-funded Michigan Tuition Grants. That's 38% of the much-debated financial-aid program.
Baker's graduation rate -- 19.2% -- lags behind all but one of the state's 27 other private colleges that reported the figures to the government.
"This cries out for answers," said state Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor. "I think people would be very surprised one college is getting one-third of the money and graduating only one out of five students in a timely manner. We have done zero oversight of this program."
Baker Chief Executive Officer F. James Cummins said last week it's misleading to judge the school on graduation rates because the college attracts many students with "formidable hurdles to retention." '
One wonders on what basis, then, one would judge Baker. If it's a college, that is. If it's a college, it's distinguished from a one or two year vocational program by its students going to and graduating from its college program.
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