Across the country, high school seniors are receiving college acceptance letters this spring, and amenities are becoming a factor in their decisions. There's a previous article on colleges are catering to students' perceived demands--in McUniversity, the sizzle sells.
As in the business world, where branding and company recognition are paramount, schools have adopted a business mentality and are striving to differentiate themselves.
"The puzzling thing is that as these kinds of [amenities] are increasing in their frequency on the national level, we all have mounting concerns about the affordability of higher education," Kalsbeek said.
Colleges Offer Perks To Attract Students
Campus Amenities Carrying A Lot More WeightApril 30, 2005
By BRENDAN McCARTHY, Chicago TribuneCHICAGO -- Boston University built a pool with a wave machine. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh offers massages in the student union. The University of Houston has a hot tub and rock-climbing wall. Duke University gave all of its freshmen iPods.
And at DePaul University in Chicago, where each dormitory room has free cable-TV service, students can log on to their personal computers to locate an empty computer terminal in the library or campus labs. The new program, based on an online airline-seating system, helps students decide when to leave their dorms, if at all.
"I don't have to leave my room anymore," said Emily McDermott, a freshman who said her room is usually littered with pizza boxes. "I can get everything in my room on the Internet. I don't have to go to the library, I can have food delivered, I can talk to people online."
Across the country, high school seniors are receiving college acceptance letters this spring, and amenities are becoming a factor in their decisions.
Sasha Robey, a senior at Evanston Township High School in Illinois, has until Sunday to decide among four colleges, and she is weighing the amenities along with the costs.
"At the beginning of the year, I heard Iowa had bigger dorm rooms than Indiana, and I was thinking of going there," Robey said. "But then I heard Indiana had a much nicer campus."
"The little amenities add up," Robey said, and many of her friends are also trying to process all the pros and cons as the deadline looms. "I'm not sure," she said. "A pool would help, it would be nice."
The Princeton Review, the company that produces popular college guide books, takes amenities into account when ranking schools on such things as cafeteria food and "happy students."
"College campuses are starting to resemble country clubs," Princeton Review spokeswoman Robin Raskin said. "Students like their spas and their Starbucks ... and schools are giving it to them.
"There is a growing trend that colleges are more concerned with the trimmings. In a market-driven culture, schools are falling back to the oldest trick. They are giving out gimmicks."
David Kalsbeek, vice president for enrollment at DePaul, said a new college culture is beginning in which students expect and demand a level of service.
"The general public is increasingly inclined to see tuition as an investment," he said. "What institutions are drawn to do is guided by student expectations."
As in the business world, where branding and company recognition are paramount, schools have adopted a business mentality and are striving to differentiate themselves.
"The puzzling thing is that as these kinds of [amenities] are increasing in their frequency on the national level, we all have mounting concerns about the affordability of higher education," Kalsbeek said.
"This will end when the public balks at the price of institutions. It will reach a threshold where parents and students will be unwilling to pay the tuition."
But students are paying, and schools are finding a number of ways to build new recreation centers and increase comforts. Some schools rely on hefty endowments, alumni donations or student fees. Others, especially state schools, search for grants or state funds.
The new additions have a minimal impact on student tuition rates and can help raise revenue, said Tony Pals, a spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
"Depending on the service, institutions go into [a new building] looking like it will generate more revenue for the institution," he said.
The buildings often house businesses, such as salons, fast-food restaurants and bookstores, that pay top dollar to rent space, Pals said. Because these conveniences attract students and prompt them to spend money and stay on campus, more student money is put back into the school.
"In the long run, it will more than pay for itself," Pals said.
Comments