Burgess Owens Questions University Official on Tuition Discounting 'Best Kept Open Secret'

The 'Best Kept Open Secret' in Higher Education

• 💡 The practice of tuition discounting is described as the "best kept open secret" within the higher education industry.
• 🎯 While college presidents, marketing firms, and associations are aware of these practices, students and parents are often left in the dark due to a "morass of misinformation."
• 🔑 The speaker, from an institution that does not practice tuition discounting, finds the widespread knowledge of this practice remarkable.

Impact of Lack of Transparency on Students

• 📉 The current college pricing system does not impact all students equally, with certain groups suffering the most from a lack of transparency.
• 🎓 Low-income and first-generation students are particularly vulnerable as they lack family experience to navigate the complex system.
• 💼 Adult learners, who are debt-averse, struggle to understand the return on investment (ROI) of a degree when pricing is unclear, making them reluctant to enroll.
• 💰 Middle-income families are also negatively affected, earning too much for maximum need-based aid but not enough to afford the sticker price, leading to confusion between sticker and net costs.

Cost as a Barrier to Persistence and Completion

• ⚠️ Perceptions of cost or the actual cost are cited as the primary reason why approximately nine out of ten students do not persist or drop out of higher education.
• 🧩 Nearly all other reasons for non-persistence are indirectly related to cost perceptions.
• 📊 The bottom line is that when students do not understand the price, the most vulnerable students bear the highest cost, not only in dollars but also in lost opportunity.