The Second Half Read Online Free Page B

face again. “When a student comes here, this is the kind of value she gets from her degree, she or he. We deliver. Our degrees are very highly regarded out in the real world as well as in other educational institutions. Our graduates who go on to advanced degrees can pretty much pick their school, and you well know that not every school can say that.
    “But we deliver more than just academics. We deliver student aid and service beyond the usual. Some of these kids are ill prepared for a university experience. We have an excellent record of bringing them up to speed, if you will, and keeping them from dropping out or losing ground. We have the highest retention rate in the state. I also asked Sandy to populate a list of our scholarship recipients and whether they graduated. The graduation rate of our scholarship recipients is five percentage points higher than the rate in general, which as I just noted is very high itself. The figures will be posted on the website this afternoon.”
    He sat back. “Without a caring staff in student services, we would not be able to achieve what we’ve achieved. We are now first tier, on a level with Wisconsin’s flagship university, and it takes both academics and student services to keep us there. And I hope your new dean of students will understand that.”
    John Nordlund across the table snorted. “Frankly, Ken, I do not believe in mollycoddling. ‘Sink or swim’ makes a stronger, better student.”
    “This isn’t mollycoddling, John. A college education these days is incredibly more expensive than when you and I got our undergrad degrees. We have a moral and ethical responsibility to make our degrees cost-efficient, so that our students get the biggest bang possible for their buck.” John didn’t look convinced. “Besides,” Ken continued, “it costs us more to matriculate a new student than to hang on to the students we already have. So student retention is a bottom-line good thing.”
    Down near the end, John Jenson, the faculty rep, was nodding.
    John Nordlund still scowled. And then he asked one of the questions Ken really wished would not be asked: “Damien, you’re in the running to become dean of students; what are your thoughts on this?”
    At the far end, Damien Berghoff straightened his tie and sat up. “I see good info in both of you. I agree we need students, and good ones fit our bottom line best. But we don’t dare lose sight of the fact that we have to make a profit to stay in the game. And perhaps sometimes, the profit motive will have to come first.”
    They had crossed swords before on this topic, Ken and Damien. His attitude, putting money above kids, was no news to Ken. It’s probably why he tended to dislike the man. What troubled Ken most was that Damien had applied for the position of dean of students.
    Ken responded, “It’s not just our bottom line. Our students have a bottom line, too, and most of them are not out of their teens, so they have less wiggle room.”
    Damien carelessly waved a hand. “Ken, we all know kids these days are whiners. They expect the world to give them an education, and I cannot see that Stone should finance their supposed entitlement. We have to pay attention to our own bottom line, or there won’t be a Stone University. It’s that simple.”
    Ken felt the anger rising inside him faster than he could punch it down. “Whiners?” It exploded out of him. “Work with these kids a semester and you’ll find out they’re not whiners.” He glared at John. “And they’re not mollycoddled. They’re working desperately to stay afloat, and it’s a part of our job to help them do that. To stay in school. A high retention rate requires effort from us as well as them.”
    Damien’s smile looked a lot like the Grinch’s. “Ken, let’s face it. Your attitude of holding their little hands and patting them on the head just doesn’t work in the present business climate. In today’s academic atmosphere, it’s not just