Higher Ed = Big Biz? Say it ain't so!

The other day I calculated how many colleges I had taught a course or two for (or ten or twenty) over the years and came up with this breakdown from most humble to most exulted:

Private, for-profit two-year colleges: 2
Public two-year colleges: 1
Private four-year colleges specializing in business: 3
Private four-year liberal arts colleges: 6
Public doctoral degree universities: 2

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a lot of schools trying to attract students, allocate financial aid, convince the government to give them more money (and not just the public colleges), pay their bills, and keep all their balls in the air at the same time. In other words, higher education is a business like any other. If you don't have enough dollars coming through the front door (on the arms of students, generally), you can't pay your bills, maintain your buildings, or educate the students you do have.

Think of this series of posts as a field guide to American higher education based on the business model (devotees of the liberal arts may sneer at this point, but are welcome to continue reading) each chooses to pursue. While no college administrator will acknowledge something as, well, tacky as a business model, they all use them, refine them, and change them when they no longer work. As a parent, knowing what kind of business model a school is using can help you and your student avoid some costly mistakes. As a potential educator, knowing something about a school's business model can help you avoid a lot of the frustration that comes with dealing with administrators. As a citizen and taxpayer, knowing which schools are destined for the ash heap of history, well, that's not going to help you very much because there's really nothing you can do about it but wait for the carnage and make sure you have a good seat.

Next: The Castle on the Hill Liberal Arts College, The 'Take all Comers' non-selective College, Jock Schools, the R-1 Big Name University, God n' Grades Colleges, and Specialty Schools for women and minorities