If you want to make higher education, its worth looking running some regressions on what drives cost differences between educational institutions. The community

If you want to make higher education, its worth looking running some regressions on what drives cost differences between educational institutions. The community college I worked for a decade ago now charges 223 per credit hour, while the flagship state university I attended now charges 841 per credit hour, using out of state rates as a proxy for the cost to provide service. I don't think anyone can explain what makes the flagship's Chem 1 offering 4x better than the community college. Yes, the instructor is more involved in research, but often that's more of a distraction to the core instructional job students pay for (or, conversely, the matter of undergraduate instruction distracts world class researchers from their pursuit of science). In fact, a great many students of nearby flagship unis took classes at my CC employer, and transferred the credits to save money. The key is to figure out how to provide the thing people _are_ paying 4x for at a cheaper cost. IMO, what is paid for is prestige, in the form of admission selectivity, and the privilege of making connections with people who also passed the screening filter. That prestige is what you put on your resume, even after the GPA becomes irrelevant. It's why students transfer credits from CCs and don't list any affiliation. From that POV, the most useful thing you could do is convince employers that community college grads are worth hiring, and convince students that the associate's degree isnt' a black mark on a resume.