I’d like to strike two phrases from higher education: “value proposition” and “return on investment.” Institutions have become obsessed with trying to craft marketing campaigns that make a financial case. The impulse is understandable, but, too often, hollow.
I was prompted to write because of a series of ongoing articles about the attainment of higher education in The New York Times. In “Slowly, as Student Debt Rises, College Confront Cost” (May 15, 2012), a vice president for enrollment at a private university in the Midwest is quoted as saying: “Schools are going to have to show the value proposition. Those that don’t aren’t going to be around.” We’ve had literally dozens of clients ask us to figure out how to state their value. Here’s the truth: no institution — not even Harvard — makes a particularly compelling value proposition. Attempts to quantify the benefits of education are often fruitless. Every institution is starting to stress the same point — jobs after graduation — and the reality is that most read as defensive, reactive marketing statements.
It’s hard to tell if the renewed conversation about addressing the high cost of a college education is real or if it’s just part of the regular handwringing that goes along with annual tuition hikes. We are all looking for the rare, courageous institution that has the will to reimagine itself. One that holds true to the virtue of higher education, that isn’t willing to dismiss the value of an informed, engaged citizenry, that doesn’t meekly try to justify its high cost. We do need a new model, but let’s not let market influences solely define it.