The Higher Cost of Higher Education

[Fishmansdad]

This is the reason that onlines are going to swamp the brick and mortar institutions. They are pricing themselves out of existence.

I taught a general education (a pick and choose list of required courses) on line for several years. Most students were motivated and completed the course. Others soon dropped. One concern - with the software my institution was using, I had no way of knowing if the assignments were completed by the persons receiving the credits. This is a ripe field for abuse in this regard. Being on the inside of the process, I also heard of abuses wrought by instructors. Some pretended to teach while the students pretended to learn and received blanket grades. Of course this problem exists and is tolerated in many on-campus classes, also. Ensuring that real learning is accomplished in all classes would ultimately reduce the cost of higher education by removing this wasteful chaff.

 

[dave1949]

I am a professor, and most of my students live at home. That way, the cost of their education is reduced considerably, as the tuition is around $6000 or so.

Actually, the biggest problem is that too many students are going to university that should not be there in the first place.

Meanwhile, employers offering "lower-level jobs" are screaming that they can't get anyone to go into e.g. the trades.

On a more general level, I have heard a lot about labor shortages, but my cynical side says what these people are upset about is the fact that no one wants to work for the lousy wages that they offer.

I've heard of that too. In some cases, people can earn more with no effort or investment in training & education than what factories can or are willing to pay for skilled labor. A shift manager at McD's can't be out-sourced, but the job of a skilled machinist can be.

I think there used to be many more semi to low skilled manufacturing jobs that absorbed people and they made a reasonable living. Some of the college attendees that really should not be, could be the result of those missing jobs. I don't know what the answer is for those folks. Their options are limited.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

After 8 years of college payments for my 2 daughters I have ONE more payment left due in a few weeks. So after $275k of college payments I am DONE. The one daughter is getting her master degree on her dime and the other wants to get her PHD, again on her dime. I told both of them the $$ press in the basement has no more spare parts and is broken and will never work again.

 

[milkman636]

I've heard of that too. In some cases, people can earn more with no effort or investment in training & education than what factories can or are willing to pay for skilled labor. A shift manager at McD's can't be out-sourced, but the job of a skilled machinist can be.

I think there used to be many more semi to low skilled manufacturing jobs that absorbed people and they made a reasonable living. Some of the college attendees that really should not be, could be the result of those missing jobs. I don't know what the answer is for those folks. Their options are limited.

Exactly the largest problem this country faces right there. Lower workforce participation because there is shrinking opportunity for "working class" people to make a decent living. We really need a stronger domestic manufacturing base. The lion's share of manufacturing today involves assembly of foreign sourced parts. Sorry to get off topic.

 

[milkman636]

It's going to be cheaper for you to charter your own university.

It sounds like it might be a more lucrative way to go.......if I only was smart enough to pull it off

 

[milkman636]

After 8 years of college payments for my 2 daughters I have ONE more payment left due in a few weeks. So after $275k of college patents I am DONE. The one daughter is getting her master degree on her dime and the other wants to get her PHD, again on her dime. I told both of them the $$ press in the basement has no more spare parts and is broken and will never work again.

275k for two! yikes, I think I'm gonna pass out if I keep thinking about this subject.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Yea do not forget all the extras, it is more then just tuition , kid gets a internship, they need a car. You get to pay for the college payments for the internship and they work for FREE. College says you have campus housing for the 1st 2 years. Now you have on find an apartment and pay for 12 months kids comes home for the summer you still get to pay for the apartment. The apartment has nothing in it, so you have to buy a bed, furniture, dishes, etc. etc. I am tired of college cafeteria food, ok now pay for the food, the cable, electric , and renters insurance. Then you have the books, another $$$$. Oh I really want to studying abroad, and while I am abroad I want to travel around Europe. Yea it is something you need to plan for start a 529 plan and start saving when the kid is born, it does add up.

 

[RoyJackson]

I'm a solid believer in online college for those already in the work force...much easier and more convenient...and, cheaper.
A number of jobs in my profession are requiring degrees for jobs that did not have the requirement a decade back. I'm sure part of this is due to the crappy high school education kids are getting now...but that's a topic for another thread.

For those of you in manufacturing, I'm sure you're aware that most jobs don't really need a degree. Experience counts more...but it's a matter of getting one's resume past HR or a 3rd party recruiter...that's where the degree counts.

I've read several articles stating the next big economic bubble to burst will be education.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Some of daughters friends could not a job after graduating from college, spent a year looking, nothing. They stop looking and GO BACK TO COLLEGE for a masters degree, more $$$$.

I have a cousin that has 3 degrees chemical engineering, attorney and a medical doctor. He was 40 when he got out of school. Worked for Exxon as an engineer, did not like that went to school to become a lawyer, did that for a while and decided the REAL money was in medical malpractice. So went to medical school got his degree practiced for a while. He is now a big shot malpractice lawyer on the left coast. He got no help from the family, I am sure he is still paying off his college loans.

Send the kid to a community college and have them take all the general 101 level classes for cheap $$. The last 2 years send they to a good college. This way the learn how to study and see if they can really do the work.

 

[dave1949]

Community colleges are a good strategy for most areas of study. There needs to be a reasonable match-up between how academically rigorous the community college is compared to the target final degree college. Some of that is probably pre-filtered by the transfer-ability of CC credits.

Some of the very technical degree programs begin degree-specific course work in the first two years. For those, you are stuck.

I agree with Roy that many job degree requirements are inflated. The military and civil service contributes to that I think. A degree, or two or three, helps in military promotion points. In an up or out promotion system, everything counts. If the people defining minimum requirements for a job have a degree, well ...

The IT sector has followed the same path. Gotta have the MS certificate(s) to be taken seriously in the resume pile.

Obviously as more jobs over-state the requirement for a degree, and more people try to satisfy that, the value of the degree is diluted. Welcome to grad school. :laughing: When I attended college, grad school was for really smart people, it was hard and very demanding. There aren't more really smart people now than there used to be.