Academics can be too snug in their institutional silos. They sometimes think of one another as competitors for students, and as a result they duplicate scarce resources in mutually damaging ways. In this article, the author wants to argue that teaching-focused institutions have much to gain from partnerships with research universities on the…

The nation seems to have suddenly awoken to the reality that for-profit academic institutions are a force to be reckoned with. For so long, they have been ignored as inconsequential, second-rate competition, and vilified for their greed and lack of quality. Two events have changed their image into something far more formidable: (1) the realization…

Modern automobile maintenance, like most skilled-trades jobs, is more than simple nuts and bolts. Today, skilled-trades jobs might mean hydraulics, computerized monitoring equipment, electronic blueprints, even lasers. As chief executive officer of Grainger, a business-to-business maintenance, repair, and operating supplies company that…

Enrollment management, the authors suggested in earlier essays, is a deliberate process of achieving an institution's preferred enrollment profile, starting by identifying the strategic purposes and mission of the institution, and then orchestrating the marketing, recruitment, admissions, pricing and aid, retention programs, academic support…

According to Weisbuch, many professors often view marketing and advertising as means to employ persuasion, not toward the good, but amorally, toward a commercial end that may be socially beneficial or harmful. Those in academe exist in a competitive environment, and while they are painfully aware of certain excesses and compromises that the…

Various aspects of the collegiate sports scene are examined with special emphasis on recruitment practices. It is suggested that college football and basketball satisfy two public demands: the desire for high level sports entertainment and (particularly in more remote areas) the need for national recognition of local accomplishment. In their…

In 1991 the Department of Justice brought an antitrust action against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and eight Ivy League colleges and universities for participating in a financial aid disbursement scheme. Argues that antitrust laws should apply only if competition among nonprofit organizations tends to enhance efficiency and consumer…

In this article, the author expresses his concern about the current state of the profession and the changes in college admission processes. Paper has been replaced with computers, counseling has been replaced with marketing, and the emphasis on "fit" has been replaced by a preoccupation with prestige, or perceived prestige. These changes point to…

The market for undergraduate education has many similarities to an arms race. A school's position, relative to other schools, determines its success in attracting students and student quality. Its position, in turn, is largely determined by the size of its student subsidies, the difference between its educational spending, and the net tuition it…

Increased pressure to "position" the institution, create an image, and "structure" potential students' first impression of the college has caused admissions professionals to participate less in the institution's central mission. Competition among colleges has also overstimulated the higher education market and created confusing pricing schemes,…

A survey of journalism faculty (n=407) suggests that ethical standards in college faculty recruitment can not be taken for granted. As the recruitment process becomes more competitive and applicant numbers dwindle, the process should be carefully examined to ensure that truth, trust, and honesty are characteristic of the recruiting procedure. (MSE)

The negative side of academic scholarships, often considered a form of healthy collegiate recruiting, is that they are usually in the form of discounts in student costs, affecting cost in most areas of college expenditure, including faculty salaries, and causing institutions to have operating deficits. (MSE)

Buying students with academic scholarships is self-defeating. It is unfair to students paying full price, unjust awards undermine reputation, competition can spiral, students are counseled to choose schools for aid alone, and parents are offended when scholarships are not offered and when their "scholarship" students get average grades. (MSE)

This article argues that, rather than raising the salaries of college presidents, thus widening the salary gap with faculty and possibly creating ill will, governing boards can provide better, long-term supplemental retirement programs that offer maximum reward, security, and control. This strategy can assist in recruitment and retention of…

The current trend toward academic gamesmanship, characterized by interinstitutional competition for faculty, gives the general public a superficial notion of academic excellence, deceives higher education supporters, deprives undergraduates of teaching that they are paying higher prices to receive, and gauges success by ephemeral standards.…