Scientific Definition
Tenure-track jobs replaced by low-paid adjuncts, lowering cost and quality.
Plain-English Definition
Tenure-track jobs replaced by low-paid adjuncts, lowering cost and quality.
Feynman Explanation
Spend less on teaching, more on football. Welcome to higher ed.
Core Principle
Tenure-track jobs replaced by low-paid adjuncts, lowering cost and quality.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Tenure-track jobs replaced by low-paid adjuncts, lowering cost and quality.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Quality erodes when the cost structure rewards substitution.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Spend less on teaching, more on football. Welcome to higher ed.
Examples
- 70% of U.S. college instruction now contingent labor.
- Quality erodes when the cost structure rewards substitution.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Cost-quality measurement that includes labor structure.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Cost-quality measurement that includes labor structure.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Seat-time accountability rewards presence over engagement.
Employers screen by school name, rewarding admission rather than developed skill.
Schools optimize for ranking inputs (selectivity, spending) instead of student outcomes.
Tying institutional survival to graduate salaries forces schools to drop social-service programs.
Grade-driven admissions reward strategic course-picking over intellectual risk.
Professors rewarded by student evaluations have an incentive to inflate.
Schools judged on completion rates have an incentive to pass underprepared students.
More homework signals rigor to parents but often produces burnout, not understanding.
Grant cycles favor safe, incremental work over high-risk breakthroughs.
Universities optimize for ranking metrics rather than education quality.
A single test format constrains pedagogy and disadvantages diverse learners.
Easy federal lending lets colleges raise tuition without market discipline.