Professor: Funding for education is a really hot topic nowadays, so today we’re going to talk about how universities use their limited resources. In the discussion board please respond to the following question: Should universities prioritize funding academic facilities like libraries, or is it okay to spend just as much money on sports and athletic programs?
Answer:
I am of the opinion that universities should proiritize investing in such academic facilities as libraries or lecture halls.
Firstly, university libraries are bountiful with academic resources that inspire innovative and profound ideas in students. What students should principally engage in during their university life is to learn diverse lessons and absorb them as much as they possibly can. Libraries are particularly suitable to this pursuit, proving to be the best investment for universities. Nonetheless, some necessary books for students occansionally happen to be unavailable, and certain areas of the libraries may require renovatation. If deans of universities decide to allocate funds for them, it may help students to study more effectively and fruitfully.
Some may argue that the digitalization of information, with the invention of the Internet, has allowed people to get access to such high-end educational materials as academic journals or doctoral theses. They were once deemed to be exclusive and separated from laymen, people without specialized knowledge in a particular subject. With such plausible evidence, they continue to further insist that school libraries are no longer of use nowadays and retain no more than traditional and institutional values at all. However, university libraries also serve as spaces for students to study and find inspiration, especially for tasks like final essays. Most university students are given limited options regarding where to go and study, typically having only two choices: going to the library or staying in their dormitory, unless they reside in the vicinity of their campus. Let’s get straighter from now on. From my first-hand experience, studying in my dormitory was quite boring and not an engaging experience at all. I rather enjoyed going to the university library, where I could get motivated to study while seeing my pals working hard at wooden desks lined up against the wall. I loved the open and tranquil ambiance with the occasional disruptions that anonymous footsteps made. All these aspects contributed to my preference for university libraries, and given that, I venture to assume that other university students may share this sentiment. In conclusion, students need university libraries, and there are no more compelling reasons than this for boards to invest in them.
Secondly, the marketing value of building high-profile college sports programms is transient in the long run. Throughout history, the financial backing of universities has undergone significant transformation from reliance on governmental grants to a more prevalent dependnece on tuition fees over time. This indicates that the more popular a university becomes, the more profit it can gain, since more students mean more tuition fees. Accordingly, universities gradually started to utilize college sports teams so as to promote themselves and boost up their application rates—which also generates a high revenue out of application fees. Some may view this as desirable, claiming that universities, thus, should additionally foster their athletic programs. But honestly, I am against their viewpoint. That’s because in a long-term view, what actually makes a university standout among other competitors is not how well its sports teams perform in collegiate sports leagues but how well its alumni perform in various fields of society. Harvard university, for instance, doesn’t harbour collegiate sports teams of higher caliber compared to other counterparts, but as you already know, it remains one of the most renowned universities in the world. And not surprizingly, their alumni have proved to be dominant in such diverse professional realms as law firms, IT industry comapanies, or pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, the boards should prioritize enticing as many intelligent and competent students as possible, and such students may be moved by the excellence of academic facilities the university they are applying features rather than how famous its athletic sports teams are. Furthermore, I am highly doubtful whether such students who opt for a particular university because its collegiate sports teams outperform other competitors are top students who will market their university to be outstanding. In conclusion, constructing high-profile sports programs may promise rapid increment in profits and fundraising, but it is all temporary. Universities, hence, should focus on accumulating as many finest students as they possibly can in the first place, investing more in such academic amenities as libraries or lecture halls.
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