Say Anything Blog

As a graduate of Dickinson State University I would like to question the policy of artificially keeping education costs high.  Based on the September 19th story by “DSU official upset with UND’s online pricing,” the only conclusion that can be made is that DSU would like the State Board of Higher Ed to practice what can only be described as price fixing. 

The story says that vice president of student affairs, Rich Brauhn, is upset that the University of North Dakota is charging too little for its online courses.  So instead of lowering the price of online courses at DSU to match market trends, the solution is to force UND to raise their prices?

Not only does that defy logic, but it defies the purpose of state subsidized education.  The universities are not businesses.  They are not revenue streams for the state, the board of regents, or the alumni association.  They are a service provided by the taxpayers to educate the next generation, and are the only form of so-called “economic development” proven to work most times it is tried. 

The role of everyone from the governor to the school administrators, all the way down to the janitors, must be to provide the best product at the cheapest price possible.  Universities are not funded by the taxpayers to allow for the maximum tuition possible, they are funded by the taxpayers to minimize the impact on the student’s fiscal future caused by tuition and student loans. 

Until certain people in decision making capacities realize that students are customers and not just revenue producing drones, universities will not be fulfilling their roles.  At that point the taxpayers and voters, who are really shareholders, will be forced to make changes that will clamp down on this sort of price gouging.