About 60 percent of Americans believe colleges and universities are more concerned with finances than with providing their students a strong education, according to a recent poll released by Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
According to the report, these Americans believe that institutions of higher education "operate more like a business, focused more on the bottom line than on the educational experience of students."
The poll also revealed that 54 percent of Americans believe colleges could lower costs without having to reduce the quality of their students' education. Moreover, 83 percent of Americans agree that students take out too many loans to pay their college tuition, and 65 percent of the population thinks the costs of higher education are rising disproportionately to the costs of other living expenses.
Fourth-year Engineering student Chris Hummel agreed that universities probably have become less concerned with the educational experience and more concerned with their finances.
"I feel like [they] are more focused on the research side as opposed to the students," he said.
Education Prof. David Breneman, a former dean, said he believes these changes may have occurred because of increased competition among universities.
"Higher education has gotten into some difficulty ever since U.S. News & World Report has started," Breneman said, noting that these rankings have made colleges feel more pressured to outperform each other.
Competing colleges look for better students, he said, and as a result, they spend more on facilities and services. This trend has increased the cost of higher education during recent years, which has, in turn, shaped Americans' perceptions of colleges and universities, he added.
The University hopes to combat the notion that U.S. colleges are not doing enough to give students a great education at a great price.
Vice Provost for Academic Programs Milton Adams said the University's primary goal is to provide the best education possible to the students, though administrators also must take into account the financial burdens of running a large university, including the current inability to hire new faculty and staff members.
Regardless, Adams said the University hopes that costs will not prevent a student from being able to attend.
"The AccessUVa program flies exactly in the face of that [possibility]; we're making sure that [attending the University] is accessible," he said.
Nevertheless, costs still may rise as long as universities are competing for prestige. As other schools invest more in their services, the University will have to increase costs so that it does not fall behind, Breneman said.
"I can't think of a university that tries to market itself as a stripped-down institution." he said. "U.Va. or any other institution can't opt out on their own"
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