To the Editor:
I find it a sad case that an institution like this has the concerns of its customers so far out of mind. The simple fact is that Dartmouth is a service enterprise: it provides a service -- education and evaluation of academic ability -- that customers pay for. Since it is unlikely that Dartmouth will not be able to fill its openings in the classes of the future and thereby face money shortages, there is little way for the College or the Trustees to get feedback on whether all the money they spend goes to things their customers are willing to pay for.
It seems they forget that some students (or their parents) will actually have to write a check three times a year that reads, "Nine Thousand Thirteen and no/100 Dollars." It may be true that employee compensation is the largest item on the budget, but it is also true that other programs cost the payers of tuition a good deal of money. When do they get a chance to say, "I would like to see that on campus, but I am willing to forgo it because it is costing me too much."
No one can deny that all of the programs, from the arts to sports to speakers' unions are good for the campus and add to almost everyone's enjoyment of the "Dartmouth experience." However, doesn't anyone ever think that $27,039 per year is a steep price to pay for these things? If tuition were $50,000 per year we could do plenty of nice things, but Dartmouth would begin to run out of students. This would be a direct stimulus for the Trustees to cut extraneous programs from the budget. However, at the cost $27,039 per year, they receive no feedback that strong.
Yet families of bright students go into debt, lie on financial aid forms, go begging to grandparents, and ultimately opt for more reasonably priced educational institutions. When will the customer's interests be addressed in a reasonable manner? The payers of tuition are able and all too willing to have their input heard on exactly how much they are willing to pay for above and beyond the fundamental role of this college to educate and evaluate its students.
