College Students=Cash Cows..is that right?

Terms:

*"Cash Cow: a product, business unit, or consumer that generates unusually high profits, enough to keep less profitable aspects of the business afloat"
*Revenue: total income produced by a given source
*Out-of-State fees: an extra amount of money added to the charge of college tuition for students who live in a different state than where the college is located.



As I continue on my journey to complete my senior year and make sure that I choose the right college for me, I can't help but wonder: "Why is college so expensive ?" We, prospective students, have to pay $35-90 just for the possibility of acceptance and once we get accepted to one, the cost of tuition, room and board, books, etc. are pretty expensive as well. So, this New York Times article caught my attention and answered my question.

(Article: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/college-students-the-new-cash-cows/ )



Some students pay more than others for college due to those who receive financial assistance and those who do not. "But the growth of for-profit higher education combined with pressures on state universities to raise more of their own revenue, is intensifying the competition for the students who will pay the most upfront." Since the focus is more on gaining more money rather than the education being provided, the value of the possible diploma and education decline. the cost to enroll is higher than the cost of completion because the focus is on the revenue rather than what theyre supposed to be providing. University of Phoenix, a for-profit institution, has been fined for violating federal regulations and has a 23% graduation rate, which is extremely low. Marketing strategies for state universities have been amp'd up and marketed more towards out-of-state students who pay out of state fees, eventually having more students who are unable to pay the hiked up out of state fees. As the attention is turned toward increasing income, less attention is toward the increasing numbers of students, leaving less teachers to give attention to the large number of students and lower-quality education. There is nothing valuable gained for the student through this for-profit strategy.

We're looking at a corrupted supply and demand process here.

Because colleges are trying to keep their colleges afloat, they're charging more. The demand for college will always be consistently high because most people want a higher education that leads to a higher paying job. Unfortunately, the supply is corrupted. Colleges are supplying a lesser-valued education and teacher-student attention ratio in exchange for profit. The focus needs to be on providing quality education to every student, and have a reasonable cost for the education given. When the price of the college and the supply of quality education are equivalent, the supply and demand will be fixed.

My thoughts are that if colleges provide quality education at a reasonable and affordable price, say around $15,000-23,000(a price including room and board and books) more students will go to college and continue going until graduation. If happens, the colleges will get the money they need and the students will get what they need as well.

Definition of terms provided by: http://dictionary.reference.com