By Matthew Scogin, originally published at Forbes.com on Feb. 10, 2025 Colleges are in the service industry. The service we provide is an education, for which we charge a fee. This financial arrangement — colleges teach, and students pay — has long been considered the only way to make higher education work. What if colleges …
Continue reading “Why Free College Can Be Capitalism’s Secret Weapon”
By Matthew Scogin, originally published at Forbes.com on Feb. 1, 2025 Why Colleges Should Not View Students As Customers “The customer is always right.” So said Harry Gordon Selfridge, the retail pioneer of the early 1900s, who is usually credited with coining that phrase. For over a century, it’s served as a practical guide for …
cat·a·lyst ˈka-tə-ləst : an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action It has been over a month since Hope College’s Catalyst Summit with Malcolm Gladwell to explore a future where higher education is built on an entirely new funding model. With the benefit of some time to reflect on the thought-provoking content presented by …
cat·a·lyst ˈka-tə-ləst :an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action The Catalyst Summit, hosted by Hope College and Malcolm Gladwell, is a day for innovators, thought leaders and change-makers to explore the possibilities of a future where higher education is built on an entirely new funding model making college education affordable and accessible to all. …
Every student who takes Economics 101 learns the concept of supply and demand—specifically, how a decrease in the supply of a good or resource drives up its cost. We see—even today—how labor shortages and international conflict are decreasing supply and thereby increasing the price of everything from energy to food. Can supply-and-demand theory also explain the …
Continue reading “Follow the Money: How Student Loans Derailed American Higher Education”
Going to college was never in doubt for me. I grew up in a family that believed in the value of education. My mom had a master’s degree (and was a middle school science teacher by trade) and my dad had a Ph.D. in chemistry. When it came time to select a college, I knew …
Continue reading “Why the Four-Year Degree is Still the Best “Pathway Program””
The discussion around improving access to higher education —specifically due to the decades-long price increase of a four-year degree — is typically framed as whether or not college should be free. The question is more complex than political debates allow for, but let’s start with some facts: Nonetheless, free-vs-not-free is a false dichotomy. And it oversimplifies the issues …
Continue reading “Rethinking the Economic Model of Higher Education”
The whole world is asking why American colleges and universities have gotten so expensive. And—it’s an increasingly urgent problem to solve. Since I went to college, the average sticker price of attending a private, four-year college or university has more than doubled. And if the current trajectory continues, my 13-year-old daughter will pay double today’s sticker price …
Continue reading “To Preserve the American Dream, Improve Access to Higher Ed”
A college education is priceless, but way too expensive. Given our Christian mission and our name – HOPE! – we aim to lead the charge toward a new college funding model. Today Hope College is launching one of the boldest endeavors in higher education. Ever. Our goal is to provide a transformative Hope education for …
