“Every institution wants to become like the next institution up – more comprehensive, more elite,” said Colin Koproske, managing director and strategy research lead at EAB, another higher education consulting firm. “Everyone wants to be more nationally recognized for everything, and all of them use ubiquitous language that doesn’t help them stand out.”
, up 16 percent even when higher education enrollment overall was falling sharply; similar numbers applied again this year, a university spokeswoman said.When Lauren Oligino was deciding among a list of colleges she eventually pared down to Richmond, she said, “I did find them as different variations of the same theme. I didn’t really notice that until I found something that stood out to me. That’s the reason so many people are coming here, is that no one else has this.
The program started in 1976, when a local oil and gas magnate named Gaines “Smokey” Billue gave the college part of his vintage car collection. Around 1998, the college was considering dropping the program. “It was a black sheep on the campus,” Martin said. “We didn’t know what to do with it.” Then Leno contributed money for scholarships. “He helped the college to realize we do have something special and unique.”Can free college tuition and scholarships solve the nation's labor shortage crisis? These governors seem to think so