$422,320 for a College Degree? With Tuition Skyrocketing, It is Time to Rethink Higher Education

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Sarah Jaffe

$422,320 for a College Degree? With Tuition Skyrocketing, It is Time to Rethink Higher Education
Unless we act now, the current $1 trillion student debt bubble is going to look small in 18 years—and the only ones able to go to college will be the children of the 1%.

January 16, 2012 |


$422,320.

That's what The Daily, News Corp. and Apple's daily news outlet for the iPad, calculated a college education could cost members of the class of 2034—children born this year, for the most part—if they attend one of the nation's priciest schools. But even an average public university will cost $81,000 for four years if tuition hikes continue at current rates—which are increasing much faster than inflation. As tuition continues to go up, and even the president calls for solutions, some are looking at radical possibilities for keeping tuition down—or even eliminating it.

The Daily found that tuition has been increasing even faster at public schools than private—4.5 percent a year for public universities and only 3.5 percent for private. According to Jane Wellman of the Delta Project, which studies the cost of higher education, public schools have been relying on tuition rather than endowments to make up for state education budget cuts..

That last statement shouldn't be surprising—with the Age of Austerity upon us, cuts have been coming fast and hard to state university budgets. Last year, the University of California system saw a $500 million reduction in the support it gets from Sacramento, a 16.4 percent drop. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/153788/%24422%2C320_for_a_college_degree_with_tuition_skyrocketing%2C_it_is_time_to_rethink_higher_education/

[barbtries]

1. "the only ones able to go to college will be the children of the 1%."

i think that's what they want. and what a tragedy. how many brilliant minds left to waste.
why is this country so fucked up?!

[BeyondGeography]

2. Unsustainable

There's too many seats to fill. Either something gives or many colleges will be left to rot like industrial hulks from the manufacturing age.

[bemildred]

13. Indeed.

You would think managers in the academic world would not be taken by surprise by demographic change, but here we are, bankrupt, greedy, and incompetent, with bitter times ahead.

[Doctor_J]

3. We live in a 3rd world country now

before long the 1% will be the only ones who can afford school, health care, potable water, and healthy food. And hate radio and Fox "News" will keep the 99% from doing anything about it.

[Ecumenist]

4. That's the entire point...they want the make sure that only a certain oligarchy

can take advantage of secondary education.

[hue]

5. So true re: 1 % wanting to limit who gets higher education. here's more--what Kochs are doing..

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/11/144280/koch-university-takeover/

REPORT: Koch Fueling Far Right Academic Centers At Universities Across The Country

Yesterday, ThinkProgress highlighted reports from the St. Petersburg Times and the Tallahassee Democrat regarding a Koch-funded economics department at Florida State University (FSU). FSU had accepted a $1.5 million grant from a foundation controlled by petrochemical billionaire Charles Koch on the condition that Koch’s operatives would have a free hand in selecting professors and approving publications. The simmering controversy sheds light on the vast influence of the Koch political machine, which spans from the top conservative think tanks, Republican politicians, a small army of contracted lobbyists, and Tea Party front groups in nearly every state.

As reporter Kris Hundley notes, Koch virtually owns much of George Mason University, another public university, through grants and direct control over think tanks within the school. For instance, Koch controls the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, an institute that set much of the Bush administration’s environmental deregulation policy. And similar conditional agreements have been made with schools like Clemson and West Virginia University. ThinkProgress has analyzed data from the Charles Koch Foundation, and found that this trend is actually much larger than previous known. Many of the Koch university grants finance far right, pro-polluter professors, and dictate that students read Charles Koch’s book as part of their academic study:

[ingac70]

6. I'm not boo hooing for any asshole that spent that kind of money....

let alone someone who took out a LOAN for that much.

[TBF]

7. You've missed the point of the article. nt

[freefaller62]

8. Where is all the money going?

Obviously, the teachers aren't making the money.

[SheilaT]

9. All the more reason to attend

a two-year college and get a certificate/degree that leads directly to employment.

Our community colleges, on the whole, are the very best thing about higher education in this country.

And too many students are totally unrealistic about what they can do with a four year degree. Or they just don't have any clue about what they really want to do.

My older son, after several false starts, got a CAD (computer aided design) degree from his community college, and recently commented to me that his job pays better than he thought that kind of job would.

Younger son got a bachelor's, psych major, marketing minor, and currently supports himself doing pizza delivery. In his defense, he made no effort to get a "real" job, is supporting himself (I'm certainly not giving him money) and he's doing open-mike stand-up in comedy clubs in Portland, OR.

I have a friend whose daughter, a college junior at a public university in her state, doesn't know if she wants to be a psychologist or a dentist. The gap between those two is so large that it's clear the young woman doesn't really know what she wants to do, and probably doesn't understand how much more education she'll need for either career path.

[fujiyama]

11. Agree completely

Junior colleges, community colleges, and technical/vocational schools are something many dismiss outright, but they can develop applicable and useful skills leading to employment.

While the cost of four year degrees is obscene (and is not improving education outcomes or the development of useful skills for employment), there are much less expensive alternatives to a four year bachelor's degree. Many are forced into a four year university but have little motivation or inclination (and for many there is little motivation or inclination to do anything other than get shitfaced and try to get laid).

Higher education as a whole should be revamped. We are feeding people through universities and I simply do not understand how this investment pans out for many. Why should an employer hire Joe who has a four year degree (much of which is useless filler and irrelevant) but no experience, vs. Bob who has a two year degree in a field relevant to the industry and several years of work experience?

What I want to see is audits and independent boards that actually start looking at colleges and universities like any other investment. I don't understand how it benefits anyone to have debt the size of a second mortgage...And where is the money being spent? President's mansions? Coach's salaries? Athletic programs? And books are insane as well. We have what amounts to a cartel with Houghton Mifflin, Willey, and a few others dominating and setting prices. But of course, we know like with defense contractors, and health care, there's no accountability whatsoever.

/rant off

[BrendaBrick]

14. +1

Thanks for sharing your personal experience on this. I have a neighbor whose son found an apprenticeship while still going to high school to learn welding and last I heard, he was making in the area of $18.00 per hour. I think it is important to share real-life stories like this.

Additionally, I found this older article from HuffPost dated 10-5-10: "Obama Addresses White House Summit On Community Colleges:"

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama called Tuesday for community colleges to produce an additional 5 million graduates by 2020 as he convened a White House summit to spotlight the two-year institutions he said are more important than ever to the country's competitiveness.

Calling them the "unsung heroes of America's education system," Obama said community colleges "may not get the credit they deserve, they may not get the same resources as other schools, but they provide a gateway to millions of Americans to good jobs and a better life."

Obama made his comments in the East Room at the start of a daylong meeting with officials from some of the nation's 1,200 community colleges along with businesses and philanthropies. It was the first such gathering at the White House.

Jill Biden, herself a community college teacher and wife of Vice President Joe Biden, presided. The purpose was to boost the schools that provide millions of students with skills training and a less expensive path to a college degree – even as they're increasingly challenged by climbing enrollments and high dropout rates."

Full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/05/community-college-summit-_n_750402.html

Also interesting is Ed Begley Jr's piece on Huff Post dated 10-18-10: "Community Colleges and the Green Economy:"

I don't want to make this post long, so I'll just snip a portion here:

"Four years ago, when U.S. and international windpower companies began flocking to north-central Oregon, Columbia Gorge Community College saw a gap between the local workforce and the technical skills needed to build and operate the turbines. The 5,800-student college quickly set up a six-month training course to meet the industry's short-term needs, then worked closely with employers to develop a renewable energy technology program including a two-year degree. This is exactly the type of opportunistic challenge that community colleges are in a unique position to address. Today hundreds of Columbia Gorge graduates are working for the area's constantly-expanding windpower companies, and the national windpower industry recognizes the college as one of the premier workforce development programs in the country."

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ed-begley-jr/post_1084_b_767373.html

[SheilaT]

15. What Columbia Gorge Community College did is an excellent

example of what the best community colleges do.

I happen to be someone who thinks a broad-based liberal arts education is also wonderful, and wouldn't it be nice if we all studied Greek and Latin and philosophy. But aside from the fact that not all that many people are interested in studying Greek and Latin and philosophy, the reality is that most of us need to work. And there are so many areas where well trained people are needed, that to attempt to shuffle everyone off to a four-year school is downright foolish.

My pizza-delivery son is actually performing a needed job in our culture, and if he doesn't make it in stand-up, he'll eventually figure out that he might want to do something else. Actually, I'd like to see him bartend, because he could make more money that way. And no, I don't feel that in his case his four years of college were wasted. For one thing, he did graduate in four years, and has no loans to pay off. He matured, and learned interesting things. Maybe someday he'll get some kind of an advanced degree, who knows? I do tend to come back to the fact that he's supporting himself.

[BrendaBrick]

16. Some of the first-hand experience comments on the Begley piece

were interesting (well, aside from the deniers of global warming)

I agree with you about the benefits of a broad-based liberal arts education and it's sad to me that so much emphasis is geared towards business and marketing, by and large instead.

I feel in this day and age that one's education needs to transition to a multifaceted platform so as not to put your eggs all in one basket, sort of speak.

To diversify ourselves. I know of this one man who is a licensed electrician, plumber, can drive a tractor-trailer and probably a few other things I'm not aware of in addition to pursuing other hobbies & interests. This maybe the wave of the future, I'm thinking.

I'm having to reinvent my skills (since full-time jobs in my former field are basically non-existent today and have been relegated to paltry, sporadic part-time/seasonal/one-time project work) and already I can tell that it probably is not quite enough to just have one area of expertise anymore (be it a degree, certification or specific diploma)...but maybe a combination of all of these.

Gone are the days where someone concentrated in one area and developed a certain amount of mastery and that was enough to secure long-term employment. (Though I imagine it still happens in many areas, still, with so many changes that can happen outside of one's control - probably best to have a Plan B, C & D as viable and practical back-ups.)

Sounds like your son is doing what he can to be financially independent - at least he doesn't have a huge student loan to contend with! And also pursuing stand-up comedy probably feeds his passion and spirit...and that too is a needed talent in our culture!

It just maybe that a whole transition in this country is shifting/taking place regarding what we do for a living and it appears that an overall type of renaissance approach along those lines would probably prove to be most prudent.

(I'll never forget a little blurb I heard about the country singer Tammy Wynette and how she always kept her *beautician license* current just in case the singing gig didn't pan out.)

[freefaller62]

17. Good Points

When I attended a Junior College I learned a little trick. I found who the hardest instructors were and signed up for their classes. After about four weeks into the course, the class had so many drops in enrollment that there were just a handful of us attending. In one class only four people were in class by finals. Close to being tutored; you can't beat that!

[SheilaT]

18. That's good. never thought

of trying that strategy all the years I was taking classes at a junior college.

When I was taking calculus (yeah, I really took it. At age 47 and loved it.) the Math Resource Center (which was totally fabulous) set up two so-called study groups each week. The idea was to get together with one of the math tutors and work through problems, get extra help, and so on. One session was led by a very excellent tutor, the other by our actual instructor, who was a dynamite teacher all around. Only about four of the twenty students bothered to show up, and I knew for a fact that more than half of them were free during that hour.

[MADem]

10. And the books--two hundred bucks here, two hundred bucks there!

It adds up!

[alp227]

12. not just Americans, also Chinese

"China’s poor sceptical on higher education" (http://liveweb.archive.org/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ab7e3902-0431-11e1-98bc-00144feabdc0.html)...that's primarily because of "quick money expected from jobs in the export manufacturing hubs of coastal China."

[JamesDim]

19. Education is business

every human being has the right to education, these colleges and universities are stealing this right from us. it's all about money.