Miguel urciola says reputation and prestige tend to trump the actual quality of instruction. Adjuncts are essentially free lancers who get paid much less than tenure track professors. One reason tenured professors may not be as good at teaching is that, as we mentioned earlier, the top schools may value research over classroom instruction.
America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)