First, the author assumes that students will continue to perceive Economics favorably as a source of employment. This assumption, however, is not supported in the argument. The fact that Economics is currently the most popular major at Argent establishes only that Economics was perceived by current students as the occupation having the best job prospects when they enrolled; it does not establish that incoming students will perceive this field in the same way.

Second, since the argument relies entirely upon nationwide surveys that establish a relation between student perception of job prospects and choice of major, information about the manner in which these surveys were conducted would be necessary to properly evaluate the conclusion. Specifically, it would be necessary to show that the students who participated in the surveys were representative of students in general and that a sufficient number were included in the surveys to warrant the claim that choice of major is dictated by student perception of prospective employment. Without knowing how the surveys were conducted, it is impossible to determine whether they are reliable, and consequently whether the conclusion based on them is sound.

Finally, even if we accept the survey results it might be the case that Economics is the most popular major at Argent for reasons other than students� perception of job prospects. For example, perhaps Economics is favored because it receives more funding and can offer a wider range of courses than other majors, or because more scholarships are available to Economics majors than to others.

In sum, the plan to increase enrollment at Argent is seriously flawed. To strengthen the proposal it would be necessary to show that Economics is currently viewed by students as having the best job prospects. Additionally, information validating the reliability of the survey as well as evidence that Argent�s students chose Economics because of the job prospects would be required.