Page 154 - Crisis in Higher Education

Changing Attitudes and Expectations • 125

6.1.1.4 Putting Pressure on Universities and Government
Students and their support groups must reinforce their feedback with
commitments to seek value for their education dollar, which includes
“shopping around” and finding a high-quality education at a low price.
If universities feel the same pressure from customers that other organiza-
tions such as airlines, automakers, and consulting firms feel, universities
will respond by offering better values.
Some people may wonder whether pressure on government can make
a difference. State governments do have the power to regulate tuition
and fees at public universities. In some states such as California, many
public universities charge the same tuition. In other states such as
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Ohio, the state oversees tuition costs, but public universities can and do
set different prices. Tuition at Youngstown State University was $7,847
in 2015–2016, which is among the lowest in the state, whereas Miami
University charged $11,673, which was near the highest, so Miami’s
costs were about 50% higher. In either case, comments and actions
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from customers/voters will have an impact.
It is time for universities to take actions that lower costs and improve
performance. A key question is: How can universities respond to pressure
from customers and governments and accomplish this? To address the
problems, Chapters 10 through 14 offers solutions involving the curricu-
lum, administration, faculty, learning materials, and relationships with
high schools and community and technical colleges.

6.1.2 Seek a University with the Best Value
Rather Than the Best University

There is often intense competition among high school students to be
accepted to the best universities—in essence, bragging rights when they are
admitted to an Ivy League school, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Stanford University, University of Chicago, or other top-level private and
public universities. For the best and brightest students, being accepted to
and attending a top university separates them from their colleagues. It is
similar to a high school football player who is recruited to play in the Big
Ten or Southeastern Conferences. One problem is that tuition and fees at
elite universities can be three, four, or more times the costs of a public uni-
versity education. See Table 6.1. Using these data, students at elite univer-
sities may spend about $150,000 more for tuition and fees over four years