The Higher Cost of Higher Education

[econometrics]

Good article. That is another side of the situation, college isn't for everyone. We need the abstract eggheads and the talented hands-on trade artists.

That's what I appreciate about what he is trying to do here. He's not "anti-higher education" at all. He just sees that there's a very growing need for skilled labor. Him partnering with larger companies like Caterpillar, etc. to give scholarships to people who WANT to work with their hands is really great.

I think his quote here hits it on the head: "“We’re lending money we don’t have, to kids who will never be able to pay it back, for jobs that no longer exist."

A lot of truth to that statement. Higher education is definitely not a "one size fits all", no matter how much our beloved elected leaders pander to us that it is!

 

[rsallen]

I'm no college graduate so maybe that's why I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around paying someone $400,000 a year to tell me I need to spend $500,000 more to do the job I thought I was paying someone $400,000 for.
So did this university president fire all the department heads and spent the $500,000 for a cost analyst that the department heads couldn't or wouldn't profide?
Or are university presidents just there to get shiny knees and brown noses?

 

[DeereMann]

This is nothing more than a pyramid scheme / bubble ready to burst. I am a college grad, with 1st child to start next year.

College does not "cost" 10% more compounded every year for the past 30 years - they simply CHARGED more. It is an insular, uncompetitive educational model that is about to fall over.

Not sure what this means or what to do about it yet. Thinking about starting child 1 at a community college for some basics first, then continue researching next steps. No way are we paying this kind of extortion / loans for careers that can't pay back.

Ideas, TBN'rs? Not tractor talk, but think of all the extra implements we could buy without giving in to Ivory Tower extortionists that don't deliver adequate value!!! :hissyfit:

 

[dave1949]

“We’re lending money we don’t have, to kids who will never be able to pay it back, for jobs that no longer exist."

I liked that quote also.

When I was college aged, it was a clear choice. If you were able to get a useful, or even not so useful degree, you had a good statistical chance of doing well. That is the reality of what life taught us, but it isn't what we should be promoting to our kids necessarily.

The statistics still favor getting the degree, but I think they may be somewhat skewed by the fact that a person who is able to earn a degree is, on average, better equipped to tackle other pursuits too. They had a better chance of success out of the gate, degree or no degree.

Where I think the government has a role to play is ensuring that bright, college-appropriate kids, regardless of their family's income status or parenting skills, have a viable path to a college degree. I think that goes along with the American Dream. My understanding of history is that prior to WWII, college was for the wealthy.

 

[wolftree]

Colleges are a business, pure and simple. They have learned where the cash is (government backed loans) and just like hogs at the feed trough, you can't kick them out of it.

 

[smstonypoint]

Not sure what this means or what to do about it yet. Thinking about starting child 1 at a community college for some basics first, then continue researching next steps.

I don't know about Minnesota, but SC has state-supported "tech" schools (like community colleges). Students can take courses there that will transfer to the state's universities and contribute towards meeting the universities' general education requirements for BS/BA degrees (e.g., freshman composition and math,sophomore literature, humanities, etc.). Provided that the students are accepted at the university-level, they can save a lot of money on a four-year degree by paying lower tech-school tuition and staying at home for the first two years of their college education.

Steve

 

[Loadstar]

I went to a community college full time while working beyond full time. It was hard but I finished and started a career. I work with my hands. Many I graduated with started at high dollar college to just end up dropping out or finishing with a piece of paper. Piece of paper achieved them nothing to do while attempting to pay the debt monster they created. I finished debt free and started working making more than probably most I went to High school with. It is very amusing when I go to a facility and some peon manager thinks he is the man and we quietly work on the equipment with dirty hands and worn out carhartts probably making double. It's even better when they offer a job because they are mad we turn "such a great job" down. Working with your hands is frowned upon in today's society. I know in high school it was a great attempt to indoctrinate the youth that blue collar bad white collar good. There are much cheaper schools with hands on learning that land great paying jobs. My horrible blue collar job cannot be outsourced, I am raising two kids, my wife stays at home with them (she has a job though), and we live happily yet modestly. I could rant on but I better shut it down lol.

 

[Cat_Driver]

Come out here to California and become an Illegal Citizen- don't speak ENGLISH, and you can get a free education at any major University. Then if you get a law degree and are an illegal citizen you can actually practice law. Oh and as an illegal citizen you can get a drivers license in Ca. And since they don't check ID's - you can also VOTE. My daughter who get straight A's in AP courses will have to pay full boat, IF SHE CAN GET IT the over crowded Universities.

 

[DeereMann]

Yeah, I sure been thinking about Tech Colleges for the boys. I got a Mechanical Engineering degree & get stuck doing way too much paperwork. I go home & work on my own equipment now days.

 

[DeereMann]

+1

I'm no college graduate so maybe that's why I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around paying someone $400,000 a year to tell me I need to spend $500,000 more to do the job I thought I was paying someone $400,000 for.
So did this university president fire all the department heads and spent the $500,000 for a cost analyst that the department heads couldn't or wouldn't profide?
Or are university presidents just there to get shiny knees and brown noses?

At University of Minnesota, the retirement President paid out unearned bonuses to all his cronies and the State Legislature claimed they were "powerless" to stop it. I about blew a gasket.