Persuasive Essay: High Cost Of College

Sandhya Neupane

101-12

Ms.Acosta

20 November, 2017 University not a business factory, professors not a salesman,and students not a customer

The educational world , in some point ,has been shifted to the business paradigm.There is a strong concept among everyone that a college is a place to discover new ideas,indulge curiosities and learn for the sake of learning. However,as the college tuition skyrockets and becomes less affordable for the students, the students are compelled to think of college from a business perspective. And,different people give different opinions on that.They consider university a business factory, professors are compared to sales associates,and students are considered customers. But,this is not the fact. Instead,

They definitely are to be paid.In the same way, a college professor who comes to the class daily just to make their students educated and a better learner, should also be paid. Their hard work and their education must be appreciated rather than considering them as a salesman in a so called business industry i.e. university. At a time when tuition for a degree in the university has spiraled into the stratosphere and graduates struggle to repay pay high figure debts, students at a small, students are seeking part-time professors, demanding that the college give them a raise.No matter the professor is a part-time or a full-time faculty member ,the only fact is they need to be paid for their performed task.And,should not be taken as a sales associates.Moreover,Faculty members respond to the student-as-consumer by teaching defensively, fearing the management that we formerly referred to as administration. But administrators administrate on behalf of the faculty. Employees delivering customer service get managed.Let’s take an example. Currently, contingent faculty members at Ithaca College are not paid a living wage. Though the average professor of this kind has been at the school for 7 years, many are employed on a semester‐to‐semester basis. They don't find out until the last minute whether or not they'll be employed in a given semester. Though these people dedicate years of their life to this

Meanwhile, universities exchange plenty of money on hands. They don’t really sell a product, actually students are purchasing the opportunity to learn and gain the knowledge.It is true that students and their families pay for the education that universities provide. But there are things that we pay for without thereby becoming customers. It is better to think of the money students pay for their education as an investment. They are investing both in their own future and in the university to which they have entrusted their education. So, the customer ,referred to a student is wrong .What the student as consumer concept fails to capture is the essence of what really makes a high quality education for students.Treating students merely as consumers or failing to recognise the importance of quality service are both problematic for