Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2002
Abstract
Tuition-dependent, private postsecondary institutions need a continuous and predictable stream of students to assure their fiscal viability. Liberal arts colleges, like all postsecondary education institutions, are vying for student s in an increasingly competitive marketplace. As premium price leaders, many liberal arts institutions have been forced to make deep cuts to their 'sticker price' in the form of tuition discounts in order to compete with one another as well as with state institutions that increasingly espouse their ability to simulate the small college experience. However, discounting, though perhaps popular and even necessary, cannot be a long-term solution. According to Lovett, "Most [all but the wealthiest] private institutions have reached, or are about to reach, their 'price elasticity threshold', and will, like state institutions, find that they worry about lowered academic quality and diminished access if they cannot continue to raise tuition." Lovett adds what many education insiders know: "Most private colleges and universities do not have the luxury of large applicant pools or large endowments." According to McPherson and Shapiro, liberal arts colleges in the U.S. "have endured a steady shrinkage of their traditional market" ... "fewer than 250,000 students out of more than 14 million experience education in a small residential college without graduate students."
Keywords
education, humanistic
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Drugovich, Margaret L., ""Like Visions in my Head: Understanding the Formulation of Student Perceptions of the Value of the Liberal Arts Experience, and the Impact of this Process on College Choice" (2002). Student Scholarship. 46.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/46