Connect the Dots

Between a few choice quotes and headlines from this week’s higher ed dailies and blogs.

“In his opening remarks [a college president] said [to the panel] that ‘perhaps the independent college sector has hit a tipping point when it comes to pricing.’”

“Americans Increasingly See College as Essential and Worry More About Access, Poll Finds”

“The more you sound like your competitors,” said a higher ed marketing consultant, “the more students will make decisions based on cost.”

“‘No Frills’ Campus in New Hampshire Saves Students Tens of Thousands of Dollars”

Big picture: Families have long based college choices on their own assessment of value (a personally subjective equation of prestige+outcomes+experience+price). Higher ed marketers have long made the case that “the experience” of one school over another makes a higher price “worth it.” But there’s no “perhaps” about the pricing tipping point. More than ever, price trumps “experience” and often prestige. A good deal can be prestige and experience in and of itself.