Money Well Spent

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/hobart/
I apologize if, to some, I'm misusing Obamadogs to rant about my frustrations with college administrations, but I stumbled across this article and it only added fuel to my fiery hatred about the current state of higher education in the US. A college in New York is resorting to 3-D glasses to attract prospective student, wasting more resources toward prospective students at the expense of the education they provide their current students.

I understand colleges need students to operate, but when will institutions draw the line when it comes to its mindless quest to get another $40,000 out of unsuspecting high school students? Not anytime soon.

Colleges will claim such tactics are necessary to stay competitive in the cutthroat world of college admissions. Although colleges may be competing harder against one another, the intense battles playing out across the country do not seem to be caused by colleges fighting over a shrinking pool of prospective students.

More students are going to college than ever before, and even though there are more opting to go to community colleges than in the past, I do not think college admission staffs are faced with shorter lists than before.

I believe colleges are having to resort to such trivial strategies because their "brand" is becoming less attractive to the high school student. Colleges continue to not hesitate to bump students' bill a couple thousand dollars, but the concepts of raising academic standards and basic students services are not so welcomed.

The article mentions how colleges are offering to wave admission essays for prospective students. What kind of image is this projecting? "Hey, come to our college, you don't have to write an essay to get in. Hell, you probably won't have to do much when you get in, we just want your money.

Instead of demanding more from students, colleges are settling for the bare minimum, and this is only aiding in their demise. Colleges are thinking too much in the short term to fix their economic woes, when they need to become committed to long-term solutions to repair the financial mess they've dug themselves.

This means demanding more from prospective students in the admissions process to set the tone for the rest of their college experience. The only way colleges will project a true better image of themselves is when they produce graduates that are the product of a demanding college that doesn't sacrifice academics for applications, but currently this idea seems tragically way too idealistic. Thoughts?