MarketingofHigherEducationPriceandQuality.pdfVIP

Marketing of Higher Education: Price and Quality Robert E. Wright University of Illinois at Springfield While price and quality are frequently seen to be correlated in the product realm, it is not always clear how these elements relate to each other in the higher education realm. This paper reviews pertinent research in the area. The literature is clear that price and quality are frequently thought to be correlated in higher education. Marketers of higher education need to continually reinforce the quality of their offering if they continue to raise prices of the offering. INTRODUCTION As states cut budgets for higher education, tuition and fees at state supported colleges and universities have continued to increase (Belkin Porter, 2013). Students increasingly find it necessary to take out loans to pay for higher education, and student debt continues to rise, now topping $1 trillion (Belkin Porter, 2013.) In addition, default rates on student loans continue to rise, with one in ten students defaulting within two years of starting payment (Belkin Porter, 2013). It is clear many students are investing a significant amount of money and actually going into debt in an attempt to obtain a high quality education. Given the current high price of a college degree, which requires such a large investment, and the high variance among colleges in terms of tuition and fees, a key question for potential students is whether higher priced higher education is higher quality education. A related question to those marketing higher education is whether raising prices will be seen as a sign of higher quality, and increase revenues, or whether higher prices will instead discourage enough students fr