President Wood's Newspaper Column

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Has Higher Education Become Nothing More than a Commodity in this Country?
Dr. Gerald E. Wood, Ed.D. President
(Published in The Crescent-News, October 28, 2007)

“One of the most significant pressures facing colleges and universities is dictated by an underlying change in the marketplace. Increasingly, higher education is taking on the attributes of a commodity market.”  So says Dr. Ann McPherren, vice president for university planning and strategy at Huntington University, in a recent issue of University Business.   

We can use agriculture as an example where the end result is developing homogenous products or services. If we can’t distinguish a preference in the larger market for this farmer’s corn over another, then competition in the market will focus not on quality or distinctiveness but rather on price. In a sense it’s a race to the bottom of the market what farmer will accept the least for a bushel of corn will be the one to sell the commodity. 

Traditionally education has been understood very differently. With the greatest variety of educational institutions in the world the focus in the past has been on value. What is it about the forensic science program at college X that is better than college Y? What kind of learning opportunities might the student receive at one school over another? Now with distance learning and online courses, Quantitative Analysis or Global Civilizations classes can be taken in your home on a computer for much less than attending a school of higher learning.

When you think about it, it is like Wal-Mart with a big box mentality. We figure go to the big place with the most choices, greatest volume, and usually lower prices. We probably can purchase the same type of goods that we can buy at a small, friendly business, albeit they may be more unique, but we go to the box to safe a few bucks.

Increasingly in our world it is all about price. The University of Phoenix and other internet education providers are huge corporations that sell a commodity at the lowest price. Quality? Well, isn’t a history class a history class?  That, my friends, is the question each consumer of education must decide.  Isn’t a history class just a history class however you get it?  No matter where that bushel of corn came from on the market it is all about price. Is that true for education?

Colleges and universities across the country have been forced to respond to the growing emphasis on price. Price, or more specifically in the higher education market, your cost is most relevant. The difference between price and cost is like the difference between the sticker price on an automobile and what you actually pay. In a time when government has eroded support in real dollars for higher education that has helped so many generations in the past, including mine, costs have increased. People shop for colleges, some applying to five to ten, and in the end the one selling the bushel of corn for the least amount wins.

Further, government public policy has attempted to force colleges and universities to be more homogeneous. Pass the one big federal test to prove you are sufficiently educated, or force every college to accept the transfer credits of another college no matter the quality of the education provided.

Colleges can and should do several things to respond to the sensitivity to price in the education-as-a-commodity market. Reduce all possible expenses, manage efficiently, and give the consumer the best cost possible. However, the consumer must face some critical questions at this juncture. Is price the only thing that matters? Is the actual value of the education chosen significant or even critical to the product you are investing in?

I am talking about value-added for your money, excellence as opposed to mediocrity.   Educators today are decrying the lack of writing skills students have when they come to college.  I will never forget Dr. Peter Bowers, assistant professor of history, who in a history seminar required we write five 20-page papers for the semester. I worked hard on the first one and received a C-.  I was flabbergasted and upset. When I confronted Dr. Bowers he said, “Jerry, you had a good thesis, the structure of your paper was not as tight as it could be to prove your salient points, but you got a C- because you do not write well, and therefore do not communicate effectively what it is you are trying to say.” My paper was littered with red ink. He pulled it out, and we spent two hours going over my writing style, the need to pay closer attention to syntax, how to cut down on flowery superfluous language for this type of writing. My next paper was a B- and my last paper an A-. To this day I credit Dr. Bowers’ demand for my best for helping me to say what I mean with words. He took the time to challenge me to be better and assist me. He inspired me with his teaching and made learning engaging.  This is a value-addedness that you cannot easily put a price on. 

Excellent teaching and excellent mentoring of students are what leaves the bushel of corn analogy hollow and incomplete when it comes to buying education.  Experiences that literally open up the world to students like Defiance College McMaster service research experiences in Cambodia, Belize, Guatemala, or even New Orleans in our own country, are priceless to the student’s development and learning. Becoming a part of a learning community that is pregnant with opportunities for students to gain knowledge and know-how to use it is not easily broken down into dollars and cents.