Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-8-2016
Abstract
Among the unfortunate curses affecting the
image of higher education are the scandals taking
place with unrelenting regularity. Whether
they have to do with athletics, sexual assaults,
murders, cheating, hazing, or corruption, the
media are echoing those scandals, sometimes
in excruciating detail. In some cases, like the
“Sandusky affair” that made headlines for
months and tarnished the reputation of Penn
State University and its renowned football coach
Joe Paterno, these scandals have a lasting effect
on public opinion.
We in academia have always been worried
about the effect of these scandals on an issue
very important to colleges and universities –
enrollment. We have also asked ourselves how
common those scandals are. Now a study recently
published by Harvard University is providing
data corroborating what we feared most, that
scandals are extremely common in higher education
and they are followed by a significant drop
in applications to the institutions involved.