Bonus calculations miss the point
According to the TFP, UTC Chancellor Steve Angle can earn a $130,000 bonus by meeting a list of worthy goals. However, it is difficult to reconcile the increasing graduation rate by 14 percent and decreasing the achievement gap with spending $2,000 less per degree.
Student graduation rates and achievement gaps can be improved by offering larger scholarships, intensive tutoring, mentoring programs and smaller classes. These solutions cost more, not less.
Incentivizing bonuses by graduation rate is dangerous because the cheap, obvious solution is to subtly communicate to professors to “just pass them if you know what is good for you.”
A much more desirable goal than graduation rate is the quality of the graduate.