Fees for higher education monetise education as a concept.
The fight for funding from student fees forces universities to act more like business corporations than higher education institutions.
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Context
If student fees are meant to fund universities then, naturally, there will be a competition for who can attract the most students. In this way, universities are turned into business and the true value of a university education is monetised.
The Argument
As universities compete for funding they have to market themselves and act like a business. When attracting more pupils becomes the main goal of universities, profit is the ultimate aim. As a direct consequence, other valuable metrics of a good education are ignored in favour of profit, and so the university experience is not valued for its ability to spread knowledge and develop the students' skills and experience. Profit becomes paramount and the initial importance of the university is lost.
Counter arguments
Other arguments say that the reason universities act like businesses is a result of neoliberal policy-making rather than a direct consequence of changes to funding.
Proponents
Premises
P1. Universities with fees have to act like a business.
P2. By acting like a business, universities are not really universities.
P3. Therefore, students should not have to pay for higher education.
Rejecting the premises
Rejecting P1. Universities without fees will also behave like a business if they are being run according to neoliberal policies.