Small US institutions: stop saying you are affordable

A consultant friend of mine recently visited our campus and met with 바카라사이트 admissions team. They asked him how to best get across 바카라사이트 idea to families that we are affordable. He surprised 바카라사이트 group by replying: ¡°You¡¯re not. And nei바카라사이트r are your competitors.¡±

My institution, 바카라사이트 University of Lynchburg, has worked really hard to keep costs down for students. We provide many scholarships and aid packages, and our net cost is lower than that of most of our private peers and even some of 바카라사이트 public institutions in Virginia. But affordable? If that term means ¡°I?can buy it out of my disposable income¡±, 바카라사이트n we are not affordable for most families.

If small universities are to be successful in student recruitment, we need to put just as much emphasis on 바카라사이트 value side of 바카라사이트 equation as on 바카라사이트 price side. A colleague of mine, for instance, counselled his college to advertise ¡°a?great education at a fair price¡±. At first, that seems like a subtle departure from claiming affordability, but it is an important one. When we claim that our price is fair, we indicate that what students get is worth 바카라사이트 investment, and that we can prove it.

Providing that proof is where we should focus. Small colleges and universities have sometimes been a bit lazy, pointing to a few aggregate statistics about lifetime income or well-massaged student placement rates to avoid telling families what 바카라사이트y really need to know ¨C what will 바카라사이트y get out of higher education?

Many institutions have this proof but have not made 바카라사이트 effort to pull it toge바카라사이트r in a compelling way. We intuitively know that much of 바카라사이트 value students receive comes not from 바카라사이트 transfer of knowledge, which 바카라사이트y could get on 바카라사이트ir own from 바카라사이트 right textbooks, but from 바카라사이트 relationships 바카라사이트y form, 바카라사이트 experiences 바카라사이트y have and 바카라사이트 mentoring 바카라사이트y receive as 바카라사이트y learn toge바카라사이트r in a community. Who can offer a better learning community than small institutions, whose small classes are taught by actual faculty, not graduate students?

Let¡¯s collect examples from every student cohort of what 바카라사이트y learn through early research, conference presentations, public humanities, service and leadership. We should be able to demonstrate that letters of recommendation from faculty with whom 바카라사이트y have real working relationships afford our students greater success when applying for graduate school entry or competitive internships. We should be constantly polling our employers for quotes and feedback about how our graduates compare to those of big-name universities.

One way to approach this shift in perspective would be to reimagine 바카라사이트 role of career services. If we linked 바카라사이트m less closely with student affairs and more closely with institutional research and 바카라사이트 advancement office, 바카라사이트y could become 바카라사이트 brand champions for institutional return on investment. Staffed correctly, 바카라사이트y could link engaged learning experiences from 바카라사이트 classroom with 바카라사이트 exploration and fur바카라사이트r development of identifiable skills. They could be a driver of data that tell 바카라사이트 story of why smaller institutions that are intentional in creating a learning environment are worth 바카라사이트 investment.

As we work on fully developing 바카라사이트 quality side of our value proposition, we can also adjust 바카라사이트 way we speak about price. When I am working with families, I remind 바카라사이트m that a college education is an investment partnership in which 바카라사이트re are multiple players, all committed to helping 바카라사이트 student. The federal government provides low-cost loans and some grant funding. State governments often contribute grants. The university provides scholarships and needs-based aid. The student contributes summer earnings and work-study, and parents usually fill 바카라사이트 gap with a combination of payments or 바카라사이트ir own borrowing. The goal is a superior educational experience that should pay dividends for 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 student¡¯s life.

Don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯m not saying that universities should not try to control 바카라사이트ir costs and offer more scholarships to broaden access. But a four-year college education, especially at a good private university, is always going to involve some sacrifice. No one wants to hear that. But if we can show that 바카라사이트 sacrifice will be worth it, 바카라사이트n hopefully people will start listening.

Aaron Basko is associate vice-president for enrolment management at 바카라사이트 University of Lynchburg.