How should marketers address value?
How should higher ed marketers address the changing perceptions of college value, particularly with increasing skepticism about ROI related to tuition costs vs. career outcomes?
First, let’s separate two ideas that often get blurred.
The value of higher education is not the same as the value of a college degree. Universities contribute to society in ways far beyond credentialing, and the public recognizes that. We unpacked this in Ologie’s new report, The Reputation Rethink. (It’s a great read if I do say so myself 💅🏻).
But, this week’s question is about the perceived value of a degree, which most people define like this:
ROI = Return (a successful career) / Investment (what it costs them)
Basic math time: If you want to increase ROI, you can either make the denominator smaller or make the numerator bigger.
Increasing ROI by lowering the cost.
This is the first lever everyone tries to pull.
Schools lean on words like “affordable” or “low cost” to fix perceived ROI. The issue is that people subconsciously tie price to quality. When a college pushes low cost too hard, the mind fills in the rest: low cost means low quality.
Your attempt to boost value might actually be hurting it.
Increasing ROI by increasing the return.
Now let’s talk about the return of a college degree. For most, it’s simple: They want a leg up in their career.
College grads do earn more over their lifetime. But the lived experience is different now. Tuition is higher. Everything else is higher. Wages haven’t kept up. Underemployment is common. And when grads lose a job, it takes them longer to get rehired.
TL;DR: It’s rough out there.
None of this is the college’s fault, of course. But your grads still perceive it as their college degree failing to do what they were promised.
So, what can institutions do? If the expectation is a career advantage, give them as many ways as possible to actually get one.
For students:
Make internships, co-ops, and employment an integral part of the curriculum, not optional.
Connect employers to students through experiential courses, capstones, and real client projects.
Create employer partnerships to guarantee fellowships or traineeships at graduation.
For alumni:
Offer career fairs and skills-based networking events.
Provide free up-skilling courses (AI, communication, data analysis, storytelling).
Offer job search support, resume help, and mock interviews.
Build active LinkedIn groups for alumni to find each other.
Create a searchable skills and experience database to help alumni hire and be hired.
➡️ If you’re not doing this: start.
➡️ If you are doing this: check whether it’s optional or integrated. Optional is not enough.
➡️ If it’s already integrated: communicate it a lot more than you think you need to.
Students need momentum, not guarantees.
Students aren’t asking for guarantees. They’re asking for help moving forward. If students feel momentum in their careers, they’ll never question whether their degree was worth it.
Value grows when you add, not when you subtract.
Not all of you work in higher ed, and I always want this newsletter to feel relevant to you, too. What I shared applies to any product or service.
Lower the price too far and you’ll weaken perceived value over time. To increase the perception of your value, look for low-cost-to-you additions that feel like genuine pluses to your customers.
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