By Derek Neighbors, Published on January 11, 2011
The University of Phoenix announced a 42% decline in enrollment with forecasts that next quarter will see another significant dip. The number one reason cited is a change in rules affecting for-profit-schools that restricts paying admission counselors based on how many students they enroll.
This is laughable. Because down the street the behemoth of a public institution called Arizona State University continues to enroll students at an unfathomable pace. Increasing enrollment by nearly 10,000 students between 2004 and 2009. ASU is now hovering at over 68,000 students enrolled. Dr. Crow has long stated his mission is growth. Typical mentality for a Phoenix based institution.
The rub here is that ASU gets paid by the state for every new student enrolled. They are in effect being given an incentive for enrolling new students. If this is so bad that for-profit-schools are restricted on the practice, then shouldn’t our public funded universities have to take a hard look at pushing for more enrollment?