Professor Elam

Jordan McClary posted such a great question on WEB CT that I am re printing it here and will answer it so all of you can respond.

Jordan’s post was as follows.

Dear Dennis:

A new comment has been submitted to your weblog “Professor Elam,” on the post “Level the Playing Field.”

Comment from:

Name: Jordan McClary
Email: irishman54_2001@yahoo.com

Comment:

I myself think the idea of having a test to establish the winners from the losers would be a great idea. But how could you design a test so that everyone in the nation could be supcebtible to it, much like the CPA exam? It would be tough, but I think there would be a need for a new DESIGN at UNT, in order to ensure students are provided with the best education for mastering this test. And on a side question. What makes Ivy league colleges any better than ones like UNT? is it really the education or the amount of money that flows through their campuses? I mean do you really have to be a genious in order to graduate from Harvard? The reason I ask is wouldn’t such a test kind of make the value of all schools become equal? If I can go to UNT and pass such a test what makes Harvard any better other than its name and the amount of money that flows from its institution. I never have understood this logic. Please fill me in so that I may have a better understanding

Prof Elam Responds

I can’t speak for architect or medicine but I can for the cpa exam and would bet the others fall in line the same way. The CPA exam is designed at the national level by the AICPA but administered by State oversight agencies that license CPAs. As far as I know the same holds true for medicine, law, architect, etc. When you go to any particular university, if your goal is achieving a professional status, certainly the record of that school’s grads should be examined. The State Board of Acctcy now publishes those results in Texas. Not surprisingly, the older the student and the more recent the schooling and the more hours, the better the results. I have no idea of how well Ivy League grads actually do on the CPA exam but frankly if you look, the top ten B schools only include a few Ivy League Schools and those are MBA not MPA so we really don’t know how well the Harvard students for example would do on the national exam since they have never taken one! By the way, did you know the Beta Alpha Psi (honor Accounting Society) students at UT Austin NEVER show up at regional meets to compete-they would not want to be embarassed by losing to say, UNT or SWT. And there frankly is the proof they are terrified of really competing on a level playing field with all of you or Texas Tech or SWT or UTSA.

In fact I honestly believe the raw intelligence and in fact the actual work required is no higher at Harvard than anywhere else that is a reputable large school. You can look it up and I beleive some of the past articles I have referenced make it explicit that grade inflation is rampant at such schools. I am not being political but conisder the case of Bill Clinton at Yale Law. He spent that fall managing George McGovern’s Presidential campaign in some state. He then showed up at Yale after the election, which would be after Nov 2, and yet he passed the entire semester with flying colors. How is that possible? the answer is that once you are admitted to Yale, you have arrived, it is virtually impossible to fail. Consider that our current president had a Gentleman’s C average at Harvard and Yale.

So why are those schools better? The answer is the complete oxymoron and Catch 22, if you go to Yale you are in the CLUB! Gerald Ford, Bush, Kerry, Clinton, Gore, even Tommy Lee Jones for pete’s sakes, all Yale guys! Hey, Harvard and Yale grads hire, you guessed it, Harvard and Yale guys, others need not apply. In Liars Poker the writer reports that 40% of the Yale or some such b school applied to Salomon Bros that year! Our grads at SWT reported that Houston big CPA firms were loaded with A & M and UT grads-guess who mostly got hired, oh come on, some one told you…..

In one of my last classes at UT MBA Prof Ruefli told us that guys from Harvard thought they were better than us but guess what, we had the same books and many profs that had taught at Harvard, let them think that he said, it will give you and edge.

And so, if you despair of my imploring you to put out your best efforts, it is not because I am Prof Cranky, I know you are as good as anyone, it is simply a matter of application.

Finally, the small schools offering MBA or MPA don’t have a great pass rate on CPA exams, this is why there is an industry devoted to helping you pass such tests, and that industry exists in all disciplines, law, medicine, etc.

It is finally a matter of fraternity. Even Ann Coulter was incensed that Bush had nominated a, oh my gosh, SMU law school grad to the Supreme Court, well huffed Ann, we certainly can’t have that! Ann went to Univ of Michigan but quickly put aside her conservative prejudices against liberal schools to embrace grads of Harvard et al. Ever go thru a fraternity rush, same deal

What say you?

DLE