|
|
 |
|
The views expressed on this page are soley
those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views of County
News Online
|
 |
Who Profits?
By Kate Burch
The recent closing of ITT Tech was the latest of a series of successful
assaults on for-profit colleges by the Obama administration. Our
benevolent leaders claim, of course, that they are simply trying to
protect students from predators in the marketplace who will charge high
tuition rates, leave the students with piles of debt, and provide less
chance of gainful employment than state-funded institutions.
While there are, of course, some for-profits that cheat, the statistics
actually reveal higher graduation rates and higher post-graduation
employment numbers for those who complete programs at for-profit
schools.
We are all aware, also, of the huge increases in tuition costs and
accompanying dismal results of the public colleges. And aren’t
many of us dismayed to observe the ballooning numbers of staff and
burgeoning infrastructure of our schools? These schools are in
competition, it seems, to offer the most luxurious accommodations and
amenities to their potential customers, all the while affording sketchy
prospects post-graduation. We see plenty of examples: the new
Ph.D. working as a barista, the unemployed 30-year-old still living in
Mom’s basement; a Women’s Studies graduate with no prayer of ever
putting that degree to use.
With colleges, as with elementary and secondary schools, while more
federal funding has flowed in, the costs keep getting higher.
Federal subsidies actually make costs higher because they result in
increased enrollment, more building, and administrative
bloat. There are now whole departments, such as IT, that
deal with functions that previously were handled by professors.
Many professors actually teach very little, spending their time instead
doing research and writing (which may be read by no one); this brings
about the need to hire many adjunct faculty. Excessive and
onerous regulations tied to federal aid and involvement add to
costs. Whatever government touches tends to become more
expensive, less accessible, and of lesser quality.
An important issue is the dysfunctional belief that everyone should go
to college. If college is to be genuine higher education, it is
an endeavor that is appropriate only for those who are intellectually
equipped for scholarship—about one-quarter of the population.
This sounds elitist, and it is. In truth, a person does not
become educated by warming a seat in a classroom and passively
receiving information imparted by an instructor. Learning is
something that one accomplishes through individual effort and practice,
with appropriate guidance and consultation, as needed. Attempting
to make “higher education” available to all can have no other outcome
but dilution and degradation of the commodity. It is not news
that the performance of students coming out of our public elementary
and secondary schools is bad. It’s also worth considering that
the prolonged dependency of young people who are expected to be in
school and out of the work force until their mid-twenties presents
their parents and society with a tremendous and unnecessary
burden.
One approach that would be beneficial would be more emphasis of
real-world training for useful work, instead of marketing of frivolous
and useless degrees. Most jobs still do not require higher
education.
We should also think about what might be the motivation for the
political class to stand so stalwartly for public education, and to
demonize any training or educational program that is not under state
control. Could it be that those who represent the state have a
vested interest in ensuring that students will be taught or led to
believe only what the state wishes them to believe: that they must
trust the government, rather than their parents; that striving to excel
is somehow unfair; that they must give unquestioning obedience to the
state? Many well-meaning people truly believe that
government-controlled education is a public good. I guess
that depends on your definition of good. As William T. Harris,
one-time U.S. Commissioner of Education, said, “Our schools have been
scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening.
The average American (should be) content with their humble role in
life…”
|
|
|
|
