What a fun side conversation this has been. That being said, OP please accept my apologies for straying off-topic. With athletics at stake, how could I resist? wink

The topic of escalating college costs is important and interrelated with many other aspects of our current society.

Someone mentioned developing a college as a meritocracy with transparency in program prerequisites and grades to be maintained to stay in the program? This may be ideal. As time passes, institutions tend to experience changes in supply/demand.

One example of a change may be an increase in projected job growth by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the school is at capacity and cannot admit a greater number of students, it may need to establish more selective criteria when the number of applications soars.

As another example of change, a competitor may establish a similar program. Now the two schools may be able to meet projected demand for new jobs, and they may vie for the "best" candidates: those whom they believe will be most rapidly employed upon commencement (or before). As prerequisites, each program may begin to consider what each prospective student has accomplished to date which may indicate they possess the personal and interpersonal skills to help them land a job and get a start in this field, by their graduation date.

If the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates a projected decrease in demand, each program may become even more selective, possibly adding additional prerequisites which applicants must now complete in high school or in a gap year prior to applying at the institution. The pressure is on. The program may change course content or add courses to provide a more market-ready job applicant upon graduation. Those already in the program may feel disadvantaged without the new content; In opting to enroll in new content courses, they may take longer to graduate. Statistics for employment upon commencement may be tracked individually for students graduating under the old program and those graduating under the new program.

By responding to supply/demand fluctuations in the economy, the entry requirements into colleges and the grades it takes to maintain a position in a program may change significantly, diminishing transparency with each layer of change.

Just my 2 cents.