Women's 12 holiday gift ideas for higher ed.

Very popular on holiday cards and the Internet is the question: "What if the three wise men at the first Christmas had been women?" The answer? "They would have stopped to ask for directions, brought practical gifts and made a casserole for the new mom."

That inspired me to think of how education might be different if it were in the hands of women. Many of the remaining 60 women's colleges already have adopted some of these ideas, but most of academe is mired in the same outdated thinking that produced the tenure system and the chastity belt.

Here are the my suggestions for 12 gifts--ideas that women administrators might bring to their schools:

1. Rotate administrators, others. We know it's the support staff who really run the place, so why not have faculty, administrators, staff and even students regularly take a hike in each others' shoes? New eyes can bring fresh perspectives to old problems. Flattening the hierarchy begins when we realize that just about anybody can do the job; it's just that each has different priorities than others. Women tend to seek leadership jobs for the chance to do good things to help more people, while men seek the title and power. What if assistants changed places with the boss for a month?

2. Digitize all departmental files. Use the free space to install a massage table. A traveling masseuse would rotate between departments, sharing her time and talents. The savings to HR in fewer medical problems and improved awareness would make them a very sound investment.

3. Truly put the student first. Leaders at many schools pay lip service to that approach, but too many still see students as an unworthy intruders into their jobs. To them, students are temporary nuisances who will one day drop out or transfer or graduate, while they will be there forever. It's refreshing to see technological advances on campus in areas such as online classes, business operations and digital messaging. Now it's time for similar advances in the teaching of values, critical thinking, analysis and citizenship.

4. Require athletics departments to be totally transparent. Publicly revealing their actual budget, including all expenses and revenue, would allow those paying the bill (the taxpayer or student) to determine how the school is allocating its resources. It would be especially helpful to those who pay their football coaches 10 times more than their presidents. In addition, such information would quickly dispel the myth that football is a profitable sport on 99% of college campuses.