High Point the Resort or High Point the University?
By Daniel Suseck
College is a time, for education, self identity, and overall growth. High Point University’s mantra is as follows: “At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people.” Certainly this University prides itself on standing out.
They want the perception, that at this “fun environment” education is first and foremost and all the amenities are just a bonus. But when does the perception become deception?
Around this campus, one sees the pools, the ice cream. Now maybe this is just a coincidence, or maybe it’s just college kids with their priorities, this “extraordinary education seems to come second to the “fun environment.” http://www.highpoint.edu/media/video.cfm?display=live#
A Freshman’s Paradise
If you ask a senior in high school today, what he or she is looking for in a college most of them will say basically the same thing. “I want to experience something fun.”
Roberty Kanaby is a freshman this year at High Point University, living in New Jersey his entire life, it had to take something special to get him nine hours away from his home state. His college process was difficult at first but once he saw the “fun environment” the HPU contains, he was smitten.
“I mean let’s be honest, I looked at a lot of schools, and none of them had two pools, a steakhouse, a sports bar, and an arcade. Now don’t get me wrong, I want a solid education for the future but I also like to be able to enjoy myself. Work hard, party hard type deal.”
Robert went on to talk about his first inclination when visiting the school on his office visit, he had this to say. “The tour guide spoke of the many different educational advantages of the university, but where did we spent more time in the amenity buildings then we did in the educational ones. And the thing I recall the most, was the High Point ice cream truck, that thing drove past us like 15 times.”
It seemed that Rob was being swept off his feet by everything the “fun environment” had to offer.
Books over Bars
Student life is the nucleus of any university. Certainly they would give another perspective on the direction in which my University was taking. Surely they had some insight, on the rhyme or reason that High Point prides itself on being a unique place to spend 4 years.
Meredith McCrea is the director of Greek Life at High Point University; she has been at that position for 3 years. She views the campus as taking its “educational growth” a lot more serious then the “extra activity” that also seems to be growing.
“Let’s face it, this school has put together 3 beautiful and state of the art buildings since I have been here. This includes Phillips School of Business, Qubein School of Communication, and the Wilson building of Commerce. I’ve visited other colleges in the area several different times; I don’t see many of that in this economy.”
McCrea raises a good point, along with the pools and arcades have come some quite impressive educational buildings. But at what cost?
In the past few years the tuition has been raised 5 thousands of dollars in the last few years. Starting at $33,000 in 2006 and ending at $38,000 in 2010 and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. In this economy that surely sends a red flag to prospective students.
“High Point has always been a strong supporter of financial aid, normally giving some type of compensation to 80 percent of our incoming class. As tuition raises the University is making a strong effort to help alleviate some of the burden,” McCrea explains.
Meredith McCrea went on to say that even some of the amenities are not being looked at in a deeper context.
“Take the school steakhouse for instance, on the surface it just seems that the steakhouse is just that, a steakhouse, but looking at it in a deeper context, it provides the students with dining manners and a different experience that some of them may not have experienced. This dining experience could help them with formal dinner occasions they have in the future.”
Indeed this University has some compelling aspects to it, on an educational level. It seems that High Point Resort and High Point University were in fact co-existing in the same world.
Students Speak Up
Skylar Mabe is the sophomore class president, here at High Point University. She can be seen riding in the ice cream truck, or debating intently in classroom. Skylar is also an HPU ambassador for the University, her responsibilities include giving tours and attending other school functions.
She sees both worlds of the High Point world. She spoke on her feelings, and whether or not the direction of the school is something that should be a concern.
“When I ride in the ice cream and see the joy on people’s faces, I know that were doing a good thing. It is a wow factor that sets High Point apart from other Universities, but I don’t think it’s our identity.”
Skylar continued to speak about her time when she gives tours, and ultimately how the different aspects of the University are broken down.
“Were trained to answer questions on everything, I normally spend an equal amount of time on the academics as well as the amenities. I think it’s natural for people to be taken back at the sight of the pools and beautiful dorm rooms, because let’s face it, you just don’t see that every day.”
Skylar has been an HPU ambassador for two years now. That experience has given her the chance to see students walking around campus that she once gave a tour too. The number one answer she gets when she asks that why they came to High Point, the “environment.”
“People really seem to love the entire package, the academics, and the amenities, everything that High Point has to offer.”
It is possible that this particular University could be a resort and a college all rolled into one.
Sidebar Story:
According to the Los Angeles Times, not only are students facing bigger bills because of the reduced state spending on higher education, but campus endowments are lessening greatly.
If you’re enrolled (or wish to enroll) in a four-year public college, the most severe budget problems cause annual tuition and fees to raise themselves over five percent to around $7,020 this fall, the Times reported.
If you’re planning on attending a private university, your school saw the value of their investments drop. Private college tuition didn’t climb as much though, mostly because a lot were afraid that if they raised their prices any more, families just simply wouldn’t be able to afford to go to their schools. The article reported tuition rose to around $26,000.
Many college officials though told students not to be scared about enrolling. Basically, there are always grants and scholarships. In fact, the Times said that two-thirds of all college students receive grant aid.
This aid can reduce tuition bills by more than half, the College Board study said. Pretty crazy savings I’d say.
This College Board study said that 65 percent of us students who got their bachelor’s degrees in 2007-2008 graduated with student loan debt and the average amount was about $20,000.
As bad as that seems, there are some students who have it worse that others. California is the worst state for fee raises with fee increases by more than the national averages, the Times said. The University of California 10 campus group raised undergrad fees by 9.3 percent and is planning another increase that would put fees above $10,000 by next year. So good luck to future students on paying those bills!
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