45 The following is part of a memorandum from the president of Humana University."Last year the number of students who enrolled in online degree programs offered by nearby Omni University increased by 50 percent. During the same year, Omni showed a signif

In this memo, the president of Humana University suggests Humana Uiversity should create and improve online degree programs to increase enrollment and solve budget problems. Even though this argument seems plausible at the first glance, a close scrutiny reveals its untenability.

At the first, the author mistakenly equals the enrollment of online degree programs to the total enrollment. Although the enrollment of online degree programs of Omni University increased by 50 percent last year, it does not mean that the total enrollment of Omni University also increased. Perhaps the enrollment of programs in campus decreased more. Without the exact statistics of total enrollment change of Omni University, the author cannot conclude how much online programs contributed to the total enrollment. For the reason that the total enrollment of Omni University probably decreased, the author cannot ensure the increasement of total enrollment in Humana University.

Secondly, there is no obvious relationship between enrollment of online programs and budget for dormitory and classroom space. The causes of fluctuation expenditures of two universities for dormitory and classroom space are various. Maybe Humana University want to improve the quality of dormitory and classroom spaces to attract more students. Or perhaps, the students of Omni University have to pay much more tuition due to the limited budget in Omni University. Thus, the improvement of online programs for Humana University cannot guarantee to solve the budget problem.

Finally, suppose that Omni University did increase total enrollment and solve budget problems by developing online degree programs, imitating Omni University may get dissatisfying solution. On the one hand, as a university with high reputation in online degree programs, Omni University may be the strongest competitor of Humana University, which just plans to pay more attention on online education. On the other hand, two universities are under different circumstances. Imitation of on aspect of Omni University might be not helpful for Humana University to solve its problems.

In conclusion, the author fails to prove that create and promote online degree programs would solve the budget problems and improve total enrollment for Humana University. To make it more persuasive, the author has to provide statistics about the total enrollment and enrollment of online programs of Omni University. More information about the reasons of why budget for dorms and classrooms of Omni University decreased last year is also appreciated.