Nora McNamara Professor Adam Smith English 1180/C1604 March 6, 2018 Purposes for Educa5on Pomona College and Macomb Community College each strive to promote their educa5on systems through their web sites. They each offer degree programs and have a variety of courses to choose from. They each have a different implied audience whose differences tell us about the class structure in America. Pomona and Macomb’s web sites each show values and beliefs; however, they are two very different schools and appear to be marke5ng to two different types of students. The values and beliefs that each of these colleges uses to recruit students is unique to its own social class. Pomona and Macomb’s web sites both offer degree programs; however, Macomb seems to offer quite a bit more as far as choices in which career path to choose. Looking further into each of the web sites, I can see a mul5tude of similari5es in the way they promote diversity on their campus, and each of them offers the use of financial aid and even shows links on where to go to apply. While looking at each site, I can’t help but no5ce the differences in the schools’ mission statements. Macomb clearly states that it strives to promote workforce development in southeast Michigan, while Pomona’s mission statement speaks about the crea5ve learning experience. These college web sites are similar in the way they promote the affordability of their schools, but is the cost of the school the only factor a student makes when choosing a school? Is it solely the decision of the student, or are the parents involved in the decision making? This could be when the ques5on of affordability comes into play. Because Macomb is a publicly funded community school, students will automa5cally see it as an affordable choice; in fact, doing the calcula5ons for an eighteen-year-old first 5me student living at home, the average cost without financial aid is about twelve thousand dollars each year. Looking at Pomona’s website, a first 5me student may be a li9le in5midated, thinking the cost of the school would be out of reach for someone financially challenged. Well, Pomona is very clear on the pricing of the school and makes it very plain that almost every student can receive some sort of grant or scholarship, and the majority of its applicants never pay full price. Because the ques5on of affordability possibly may not be a factor, why then is one school more appealing to students than the other? If each school claims it is affordable, what makes a student choose one over the other? It is my belief that students choose a school and career path based on their upbringing and background. I think that the social class someone is brought up in has almost everything to do with choosing a school. Looking at the web sites of each of these schools, it is apparent to me that the schools know this and promote themselves based on different concep5ons of educa5on that are 5ed to class.
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