My alma mater in the news

…well, maybe not the news, per se. Does The Atlantic count?

Grove City College reports demographic and some other information to the government on a voluntary basis, said its president, Paul McNulty. He said that—even though it doesn’t have to—the college also tries to adhere to the principles of Title IX to serve male and female students equally. “I think a lot of other colleges wish they were in Grove City’s position, because they worry that [government] requirements are going to fundamentally change the direction of the institution,” said McNulty.

“The issue has never been about discrimination,” he said. “We value our independence. We value the fact that we do not have to be subject to the evolving policy initiatives and prerogatives that come along from one administration to the next, and we don’t have to then shoulder the burden of the administration costs associated with those policy initiatives and requirements.”

Long story short, my alma mater (Grove City College) does not accept federal funding and, by implication, cannot accept students who finance their education with federal student loans. They do this on principle for reasons of financial and academic independence–as President McNulty states in the quote above, to “not have to be subject to the evolving policy initiatives and prerogatives that come along from one administration to the next.”

I’m not really sure why this is “controversial,” as the title of the article alleges. Colleges like Grove City College don’t want federal funding, and I’m guessing critics of such colleges’ missions and values don’t want taxpayer dollars to help fund their operations. If anything, the “controversy” is that the government places values-based controls (vs. financial/administrative controls) on colleges who accept federal funding.

Yes, I understand that it seems “controversial” for a college to have rules regarding sexuality and on-campus behavior that are mainstream “discriminatory,” but where does the government’s control end? No student is forced to attend Grove City College (or any college that doesn’t accept federal funding) nor do these independent colleges use taxpayer dollars to further their religiously-oriented missions. Who’s hurt?

One thought on “My alma mater in the news

  1. A follow-up here: Grove City College costs $26,806 per year. Patrick Henry College costs $22,604 per year. Meanwhile, the average private 4-year college in America costs $36,589 per year. (All data from NCES.) If anything, their model is one other colleges should at least consider, in the interest of their students’ wallets!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *