How Inefficient Is Harvard?
Mark Mishler argues that Hillsdale College is more efficient than Harvard University because it has a higher student-to-employee ratio (Letters, April 30). But teaching is only a small part of what goes on at the university. In my years on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, I spent less than 1% of my time teaching students about neural network programming, epilepsy, neuroscience and supervising residents in neurology. I spent roughly 75% of it doing research, 10% on seeing patients and the rest on writing grant proposals and serving on the institutional review board for research.
A better metric for inefficiency is the ratio of administrators to faculty, which has ballooned in recent decades thanks to governmental regulations and social engineering. Reducing that, and streamlining the process for applying for grants, is where bloat can best be mitigated.
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