People
The first cause of all action at every University should be students , their aspirations and their needs. On campus, we frequently think of people as faculty, students and staff, and to be sure they are the people of the University. However behind these people are family, communities, elected and appointed officials that along with the University serve students. For many reasons large organizations, public and private, become fixated on process as a means to fairness, equity and legitimacy . When the purpose of any organization evolves to a place where a commitment to people is superseded by a commitment to process many negative consequences follow. It is the nature of bureaucracies to become self-perpetuating. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. No bureaucracy in public service or private enterprise ever starts out as anything but a step towards fairness and excellence. Yet, time and power jointly contrive to pollute legitimate ordering principles. Under these conditions, bureaucracy produces neither equity nor excellence. Process must serve people rather than the other way round.
When considering college :
-Find a place to study that pays more attention to people than procedures or policies. Patton Springs, Texas
-Look for an institution that caters to student and family concerns, that are not overridden by an attitude from the university perceived to be, “Don’t worry, we know what’s best.” Higher education is serious, it is expensive, and it is personal . Childress, Texas. -People in a community working together lead to a productive society and noble citizenship . This is the most important part of any educational experience, in any place, at any level, for any cost. I found over and over again that schools serving smaller communities in the far reaches of the Panhandle and the South Plains tend to model robust citizenship: they are potboilers of American republicanism. Cotton Center, Texas
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