Thread by @JonBoeckenstedt

Thread: Post-May 1, aka the death of May 1:

A friend sent this

This is the result of the DOJ investigating the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice, which would have allowed this if the student had not withdrawn, but would have forbidden it if the student had notified the offering school that they had deposited elsewhere.

The DOJ treated college just like any other consumer purchase: Suppose car dealers agreed the Subaru dealer could not call you while you were on the way to the Ford dealer to buy the car you had agreed to buy, and offer you a better deal?

That would be bad for consumers.

So, they said, why can't colleges bid against each other right up until the very end? Or even, now, after a student enrolls?

We in higher ed may not like it, but it's the way things are now.

Lots of people in our profession tried to argue that our standards were "to protect the students." The DOJ thought that was double-speak (and so did I). It was to protect the colleges.

(Hint: The SPGP was not written by students.)

But let's take this to the next level and see what happens:

First, of course, colleges will feel pressure on price, because if you take a stance, and don't renegotiate when student X says, "I just got 10% more aid at College Y," you'll lose students.

Colleges who are short on May 1 are now incentivized to keep cutting price throughout the summer. Is this a good idea? If you have an airplane ready to take off with empty seats, you can sell those seats for almost any price, and it's good for your net revenue.

(Expenses in higher ed are often step functions...adding five students costs you nothing, but adding five times five means you need to pay to teach new sections of classes.) But let's not quibble.

What if the parent above takes the offer, and posts the W in the parent Facebook group: Hey everyone, we waited until May 2 and got another 10% in merit aid! What do the May 1 parents do?

This is not a trick question. Be aware of unintended consequences, colleges.

How long does this have to happen until paying a deposit on May 1 simply means you're buying an option to lock in at that price with college A while still shopping college B, C, D, E, and, probably F?

I'm retiring in 3.5 years, so let's hope more than that.
But we may be there.

What does that do to deposits? That $200 deposit now becomes $5,000. Or $10,000. Or the first semester's net cost, due May 1, and nonrefundable.

This should be fun.

If you're looking for someone to blame, you can start with Ronald Reagan, who in the mid-60's decided college was just a business, and taxpayers shouldn't subsidize California students to follow their dreams.

It led to tuition in California. Tuition led to competition.

And here we are. Is it good or bad? Yes.

But your answer depends on who you are.

So, I have several emails from vendors who want to solve this summer melt problem they've heard about. Happens every year about this time.

They think I should text students.

Will investigate. Stay tuned.

Oh, and #EMTalk