An increasing percentage of Americans believe colleges and universities prioritize profit margin over educational quality, a claim educators refute as misguided and unfair, especially during the current economic downturn.
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education [1], along with Public Agenda [2], released a report [3] Feb. 17 that highlights respondents’ discontent with the rising costs of college education. The survey, titled, “Squeeze Play 2010: Continued Public Anxiety on Cost, Harsher Judgments on How Colleges are Run,” shows that six out of 10 Americans now say “colleges today operate more like a business,” taking focus away from academics.
In 2008, 55 percent of respondents said universities were more concerned about the bottom line, an increase from 52 percent in 2007.