There is a product that is as American made as any.
The raw product is American.
The hands that mold into a finished product are American.
The sales force that promotes it is American. Even the telemarketing personnel are American.
The product is made on-site, in America.
People from other countries come here to the buy the product.
It is hand-crafted, made to order, with each individual unit a limited edition.
It is American Higher Education. “Quality craftsmanship since 1636.”
Not cheap. In any sense of the word. Including price tag.
Are there ways to cut costs? Is there some level of mismanagement with some suppliers?
Sure, but I would venture a guess that it’s no worse, and – in fact – may be less than in most industries.
In other words, higher education is expensive. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to provide one year of education – whether you pay for it, Uncle Sam, Uncle Christie or Capitol One pays for it. Even if the College gives you a 40% discount off the sticker price (which is the norm, by the way).
Yeah, but some of that money is going to a new dorm or laptops for each student or a new fitness center that looks like Curves and Golds Gym all rolled into one. And I heard one college is even giving out SmartPhones to each freshman.
Absolutely. And they could stop doing that and it would certainly lower tuition and room and board. But – if they don’t build it, will we still come? I’d hate to work for the college that hedges that bet. The consumer demanded and the supplier responded.
Better management in higher education might also save a few dollars. Figure a $50,000 school might become a $48.000 school. But, it’s not the problem nor is it a magic solution. It still would be $48000.
Reduce costs? Sure, eliminate a career services staff member or an athletic team. Don’t build that new dining facility. Cut back on landscaping. Let average class size grow from 15 to 30. Let G.A.’s and adjuncts replace full-time faculty.
Are there salaries that are out-of-control? Sure, a few athletic coaches and a few Presidents. Not many others. However, I think a comparison to areas of commerce would be quite revealing. There aren’t too many Jamie Dimons in higher education.
But I can’t afford $48,000. It’s not fair.
It’s not always fair. Trust me, as a Met, Jet and Net fan, I’ve used that phrase quite a bit in my lifetime.
Thanks to 40% tuition discounts and Uncle Sam and Uncle Christie, most “$48,000” schools will actually be much less. But even if the cost of College A is out of your reach, there’s still College B that will offer a do-able package and State U., which will offer a subsidized tuition rate and Community College, which will offer an even more subsidized rate.
All for a product that is American made, offered in limited editions and respected worldwide.
Folks like me can help you through the process, offer advice and maybe even save you a dime or two. But there’s no magic here.
There. Is. No. Magic. Here. Except in the finished product, when you become your very own collector’s edition.
Not every college and not every financial aid package is affordable. Some roads may be closed. Some roads may have a toll that is beyond your means (Kinda like the Verrazano Bridge). But many – far more than you realize – will be welcoming, passable and affordable. And worth traveling.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions. Please feel free to email me at info@cc4therestofus.com, call or text me at 908-403-3819, join me on Facebook on “College Counseling for the Rest of Us” and join me on Twitter at @MichaelCCR. And now on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/CCRMichael?feature=mhee.
College Counseling for the Rest of Us 
Jun 30, 2012 @ 11:21:32
In most ways I agree with you Michael – and a very well written post, as usual!
Absolutely, this product we have here in the US is highly desired by students both at home – and abroad! It has become and remains the best Higher Education system in the world, no doubt.
Accessibility is a problem for many, however, and cost is an additional problem.
Perhaps we need to reinforce with our younger grade school students the importance of doing well in their grades, activities and involvement throughout their middle and high school years. Sometimes I think television, Hollywood and other media do their best to dispel these facts with their onslaught of constant negative messages to our teens.
Jun 30, 2012 @ 12:31:45
Thanks, John, for the comments!
Accessibility is a key word in this conversation. Accessibility to college, in general, is not the issue. It’s accessibility to particular colleges – including public institutions that were originally designed specifically to be accessible. And it is the increasing role that cost is playing as a gatekeeper to access. The Admission Office is no longer the only gatekeeper.
The question to debate is what access is required. To what extent is access to higher education a right or a privilege?
Jun 30, 2012 @ 13:35:25
As Dr. Marty Nemko said in one of his blogs, higher edication in the US is overpriced, over valued, and underperforms as an investment. There’s a bubble around academic education just waiting to be popped. The academic paradigm is already fading. Bricks and mirror will be closing. They will make great housing for the aging. Ten years from now, higher education will look very different. In another generation it will be unrecognizeable. The Ivies may still exist, but who knows. Between on line learning, industry funded training centers and alternative forms of gaining qualifications,think Anya Kamentez’ DIY-U, there will be much cheaper options. The shrinking of the middle class will eventually shrink colleges as well. Since only 22% of jobs through 2020 will need an academic degree, in another 5-7 years, with continuing numbers of loan impoverished degree holders being unemployed, academic degrees will be sought by fewer high school graduates. From The Netherlands, Carol
Jun 30, 2012 @ 13:47:21
Thank you, Carol, for your – as usual – insightful, relevant, researched comment. I do disagree – in degree – with all three statements of Dr. Nemko’s, however. (Not that I have the credentials to do so – and I certainly respect his work.)
Saying that, I do think dramatic changes are needed or those statements will be completely accurate in the next few years. I do not expect wholesale changes as you suggest but I do expect a consolidation of resources among colleges and a reduction in the amount of brick and mortar colleges. But until there is good data that not having a college degree is a healthy alternative (and right now the unemployment rate is double for 22 year olds who didn’t go to college vs. those that did), families will not hedge their bets with their child’s education. In other words, Carol, I agree with much of your thoughts in principle, but I think your time frame is far too condensed. I firmly believe there will always be a substantial amount of traditional brick and mortar schools (albeit less than today) and I think higher education will be very different in a generation, but certainly recognizable.
And I do think American higher education is a good value. Just not the great value it once was. And I do think it needs to change or I will not be able to make that claim in 2020.