By 
The following combines information from government resources and standardized testing companies, years of experience with college fairs/marketing, working with, through, against, and in spite of school administrations, direct consumer inquiry challenges to college admissions teams, and that acquired through many other strategies used to understand the business of university education.
The school colors are green and gold. Pom pom milkshake and giveaways are generously offered at fall college fairs. Prospective students and their families are offered free tickets to home soccer games with one hand and marketing or application materials with the other. High school counselors run around the gym, their faces beaming with pride at the events they coordinated.
Two days later, the newspaper reports on the content of an interview with the rector of a local university. The president reluctantly responded to inquiries about the school’s very low graduation rates, the high percentage of students who are allowed to enroll in remedial courses (paying full tuition to take classes without college credit), and about his apparent Lack of work with the regional. high school systems so that their incoming students are better prepared to begin college work.
Interestingly, if you look at historical student achievement statistics, for the vast majority of schools, these findings are not new (neither good nor bad). What may be new is that an increasing number of potential applicants are looking at graduation rates, the average number of years needed to graduate, as well as average post-graduation student debt and the effectiveness of student-assisted job placement. the school. Unfortunately, under the harshness, the university administrations blame the students.
Of course, too many students arrive on campus believing that each week should include sports entertainment and elements of contemporary “Animal House” experiences, with minimal adjustments for schools’ specific missions, local settings, and reflecting student bodies. . However, most incoming students truly understand the true goals of their attendance. That being said, admissions committees are professionals, as are the staff employed to teach, advise, conduct research, manage finances, and provide all administrative support. By history, institutions know exactly who they recruit and accept; your student profile. They know the strengths of the student body, as well as the distribution of academic, social, and financial challenges they will face with their students. As such, by accepting students and their money, they are saying “We can [in every manner] to successfully instruct, develop, graduate, and deliver these student-clients to quality positions in the marketplace.”
But, colleges and universities have not been effective. The average school graduates only fifty percent of its students in six (6) years, and most cannot afford to spend more than six years in college, so they never graduate. Schools don’t want to be accountable to “helicopter parents” who want to keep track of “progress” on more than unpaid bills. Furthermore, as many senior leaders are unwilling or unable to explain the shortcomings of their business models, educational institutions simply blame the failures on students and all those associated with them (family, guardians, associates, previous education systems, etc.). ). Who needs colleges and universities with attitudes like that?…Not you!!