Higher Ed: Worth breaking the bank?
May 2nd, 2008 by Kim
There is quite an interesting discussion that has been growing since yesterday in the forum for this USA Today article on rising college tuition — and whether the costs translate into results.
A report by the Delta Cost Project, a Washington-based non-profit, says even as colleges and universities receive more revenue from tuition, that may not mean more is being spent on classroom instruction to prepare students for graduation.
Leaders in higher education typically argue that spending increases are necessary to maintain educational quality, but “what we see across a broad range of indicators is that states and institutions are spending money in areas that may not be in line with the public priority of preparing more graduates,” report author Jane Wellman says. The report is based on Department of Education data across 18 years from nearly 2,000 institutions representing 90% of students. The study examined only operating expenses, which include instructional costs — primarily faculty salaries and benefits. The fastest-growing operating expenses are related to research, public outreach and financial aid, the report says. Other examples are student services, maintenance and academic support.
For the current school year, the price of tuition at community colleges increased an average of 4.2 percent and 6.6 percent at public four-year institutions, according to College Board data.
Interestingly, as the article points out, the United States spends more per student than any other industrialized nation, but is at the bottom in regards to degree completion (54 percent), as reported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in a 2007 study. The organization’s average was 71 percent, with Japan at the top with 91 percent.
Some who have left comments on the article disagree on just how important a college degree is in getting ahead, and how much going to a name-brand institution, like an Ivy League school, counts. Could one spend far less than the $125,000+ it would cost for four years at Harvard and get a fine education and a degree from a community college (and afford the first down payment on a house) instead? Does more money shelled out for college necessarily equal a better education? A bigger circle of connections? A higher-paying job?
A better life?
What I find intimidating is that more and more, it seems that a four-year, oftentimes terribly expensive college degree is not enough. Back in the day, those who finished high school were considered accomplished. Then it became those who completed some kind of secondary education. Now it seems you may need even more than that to succeed in this increasingly globalized world.
Many of my friends are discovering that their college degrees are not enough. But applying for graduate/law/med school while still paying off hundreds in college loans each month can be daunting.
Honestly, where does it stop?
Tags: college, graduate school, money, tuition
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:11 pm
The USA Today article is extremely interesting and well-worth reading. My comments: I work for the State of Hawaii, where many of our secretaries (”administrative professionals”) have college degrees, so if you’re looking for a leg up, even at this level, you better get that degree.
Secondly, our new head football coach, who supervises less than 100 students and athletes, is making over $1 million dollars a year, while Governor Lingle, who is in charge of more than 40,000 people, makes one-tenth of that. Does that make sense? In the meantime, UH is in disrepair, needing over hundreds of millions of dollars to fix.
Thirdly, prestige schools, such as Harvard, pay their professors in the $300,000 range. To afford this money, like any good business, it makes good economic sense to have these professors teach a class with more than 400 students, or hand the class over to a grad student from India and only teach Ph.D. candidates. Students will, consequently, get very little attention for that $50,000/year tuition. Might as well stay home and watch the lecture on TV. And studies have shown that Harvard grads do no better in the workplace than kids at the State U.
Fourthly, American colleges and universities do have an outstanding reputation; indeed, the U.S. is the best place to study in the world. This attracts students from throughout the globe, mainly from India and China, particularly to our grad schools. Other nations (Australia, UK, France, Spain, Italy) compete fiercely for these students because they pay full tuition and often bring their families, who bring in substantial (outside) dollars to their communities. In Hawaii alone, they contribute over $200 million annually to our local economy, and for the U.S., the total is in the billions, one of our nation’s most important service “exports.”
Fifthly, one student at Simmons College in Boston told me that “college is a four-year party paid for by your parents.” Sadly, for many students, bouncing ping pong balls into cups of beer will be their most important remembrance of their college years.
Sixthly and lastly, unless an American kid is working at a gas station or waiting on tables, chances are he or she will be competing for a job with kids from all over the world. Last time I called United Airlines to check on a reservation, I spoke to a girl in New Delhi! If college doesn’t become more affordable and our students don’t become more serious about their studies, their most important career position may be working at McDonalds or Wal-mart.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:14 pm
The problem is that college degrees are like water. Everyone has them. However, a degree from a “prestigious” university is worth it, because it can set you up nicely on your path to grad school or your profession. It’s much harder to get to doctorate programs without the pedigree, unfortunately. Whether that’s out of bias or backed-up truth, it is still the case. The debt incurred by medical students is ridiculous (100-150K+ for many) and you don’t make more than a teacher (teachers deserve more love, too, btw) until you are in your 3rd decade of life.
In Hawaii it’s more of a who-your-uncle-knows than your resume when it comes to getting jobby jobs, but if you want to spread your wings on the mainland it’s harder.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:26 am
From the standpoint that degrees are like water. Completely agree, more worse for me since I have a BA in Religion. I no like preach so…
The thing that made college worth it for me was all the other experience, actually that was the real learning for me as I wasn’t the most focused student for my undergrad. The training in life skills I got from paying my own way to school, dorming, working in the dorms, etc. was key. So in that regards it was well worth it.
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:49 am
University football coaches make a lot of money because they bring in more money into universities through the football games. Hence you have to spend money to make money.
As for UH being in disrepair, UH kept bitching about autonomy from the state during the ’90s. UH then got autonomy, and then that foolio Ben Cayetano cut the funding to the University. I believe UH also owns a lot of bonds and they have to wait until the bonds maturate before the money can be released for repairs.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
it was an interesting article and shows that many universities and colleges are becoming cost-prohibitive to many high school graduates. many opt for the local or state university because it is affordable and parents who foot the bill often times see it as something that is “worth the investment.” i know of parents who would rather break the bank and send their kid(s) to a private high school with the condition that they go to uh (unless they can get a free ride somewhere else) rather than pay for a mainland college that’s going to run you at least $40,000 a year. mainland colleges are pricing themselves out of the market for us hawaii folks. and who knows if the so-called better education is worth it.
i teach middle school and i tell my students, education is personal. what you put into it, is what you get out of it. you can go to an ivy league school and party for 4 years and get a so-so education or you can go to a way cheaper school and work hard, take challenging classes, and meet others and get a great education.
May 4th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Paying over $125,000+ for a undergraduate degree at any university is a rip off. Paying over $125,000+ for a MBA at Harvard is worth every penny.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:48 am
It used to be that you needed a high school diploma to compete for jobs, then it became a college degree. Now you have to have a graduate degree to separate yourself from the pack. How a person sequences these activities is equally important as no one likes to hire a freshly minted MBA with no experience. The legal profession gets it right with their summer intern programs. Surprisingly there aren’t viable equivalents in the MBA world. If you are a graduate science major this is also true. The path of choice is often very difficult to determine. Some schools recognizing the difficulties in choosing the right path have created doctoral programs for working adults, executive MBA programs, and night schools for a variety of disciplines.
A collegiate education is not a waste of money. Everyone in the US should have the opportunity to go to college and a national plan to facilitate it that makes sense and should be found. A well educated public is worth every penny. In this election year I am astounded that not more is spoken about this key national security interest. We are 20 something in the world now in education and that will do more to harm our national security long term than anything else.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:31 am
A UH degree is good enough if one wants to work in Hawaii. However getting jobs on the mainland is a different story. Unless the hiring company has a track record with recruiting UH graduates, they may have the perception that the UH grad spent 4 years partying on the beach. I got my undergraduate degree from UH but it was my masters degree from Stanford that gave me credibility. One option for students is get your undergraduate degree from UH save some money and then look to get a masters degree on the mainland.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I will go even further and say that local parents should save their money and not send their kids to private high schools. Instead they should opt to send them to the best school a child can get into on the mainland. I did this and my son went to Har vid. This opened doors for him in professional school and jobs.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
You gotta apply yourself, too. Have done internships and other experience in the field. Can’t just say, heh, HERE’s my sheepskin, now give me something.
I did all that. Got my BA from UH. And I ain’t depending on mama and papa no more for shelter or food or whatever. I’ll still take a free meal from them, but, I’ll take ‘em to dinner, too.
You gotta DO what interests you, too, you know? That’s the only way you gonna WANT to put in hours, initially, w/hardly any pay or overtime. You gotta start somewhere.
I got offers from the mainland AND locally when I graduated.
I liked going to UH-Manoa. In my day, you worked for your grade (I’m not saying that’s not the case now at UH-M; what I AM saying is that I’m glad I didn’t attend somewhere where they inflate the grades . . . “oh, you got INTO this institution; you couldn’t have possibly earned a C or less.”).
I admit, maybe some luck played into it. But, that doesn’t discount hard work. And, I WANTED to go UH, whoo-hoo, go Warriors (or, ecckkk, Rainbow Warriors at the time; still, I love UH-M).
May 7th, 2008 at 8:31 am
“…you just dropped a 150 grand on an education you could’ve got for $1.50 late charge fee at the library.” ~ Good Will Hunting
It’s funny how these Doctors and Lawyers go to school after high school for at least 8 years then they have to work 20-30 years to pay off their school loans and then they get to live their life. But such is life.
Me personally I believe all one has to have is an high school education, the basics. Then on to a school which specializes in your interest and nothing else. But that’s just me.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Would I spend $60k again for a 1 year (accelerated, non-thesis) masters degree?
Yes.
Biggest reason? There was a campus golf course…oh…and the academics were amazing. The only thing that bothered me was their weak football team…which…after last season’s upset of USC, looks to be rebounding in the right way.