At most US colleges and universities, the faculty wield quite a bit of power. The Dean of Faculty is considered one of the most senior positions, and when professors earn tenure they often sit on committees that sway a lot of institutional decision making. Could American administrations ever succeed in wrestling power away from faculty, as the Dutch have?

“Talking up quality” is one of the more interesting points in the article. It seems that many Dutch, educational public relation offices are comfortable positioning themselves among the best in the world for enrollment purposes. We see this happening in the US too [ex. “UMBC (University of MD Baltimore College) is again recognized as a top university for undergraduate teaching in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges guide, ranking 8th nationally, tied with Duke University”]. Are rankings and bold statements unethical or a fair way of expressing institutional pride?

http://about.umbc.edu/what-others-say/