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While in the U.K there is exploration into a ‘no-fee degrees’ university plan for the lower income students, a report out in July 2009, begins by stating the obvious, well at least to parents and students that “higher education has never been more expensive…”Written by Dillon and Carey for the U.S - based Education Sector. The price of education has outpaced family income forcing more and more students to borrow as an investment to their futures. As the pressure increases for graduates, more risky private debts are undertaken. It should not need the interference of a president, in this case President Obama, to review the federal student loan program so that all students borrow from the government.
The chart provided in the report shows:
- Approximately 16% of students who attended for profit higher education took loans in 2004, but by 2008 the percent increased to 43%.
- In the fiscal year 2008, just over 20% of students requested loans from the public education sector, in comparison to 80% of the private education sector.
Not only does this indicate an increasing demand, but also that the demand has been greater for private education. The authors blame those who take advantage of the students' circumstances. However, is it not the time for the private education establishment to reflect on why they are in the business of education, instead of pricing themselves out of business by making education a business? A private loan not only incurs greater interest, but the debt has to be paid, whether a student becomes employed or not, because those for-profit institutions are dependent on those private loans. This is of course compounded by the credit crunch, a result of the current global economic crisis.
Those who can at least afford the loans might be the ones hard pushed to change their circumstances through education. The report shows: in 2004 black students were less likely to take loans for their education, than their white counterparts, but that changed in 2008, with black students becoming the higher risk takers.
One of the changes that have taken place according to the report is that there has been less investment in terms of aid to lower income students in comparison to 15 years ago, aiming at using that money to attract wealthier students. In 1993 a majority of the students from the lower income bracket received financial assistance direct from their place of learning, whilst 36% of the wealthier students received aid. However, now it is the wealthier students who are getting grants to the same level as the financial aid received by the lower income students. The ‘logic’ behind this is to encourage the wealthy parents to donate to the alumni fund, which does not go to the needy. Regardless of the academic ability, students from a certain class or sought for improving the ranking, and prestige of their institution.
The U.K Alternative
With the economic crisis, there has been an increase in the number of applicants for university places. A ceiling has been set by the government on universities to raise student tuition fees. The government has been reviewing student tuition fees for Autumn 2009, because they believe it would cost them less than if they were to continue to offer financial aid or grants. However, this is dependent on students having families that are able to support them throughout their university education. How this pans out, time has yet to tell, but here are a few comments gathered from students and educationalists alike:
“In the context of the current recession, it is extremely arrogant for university vice-chancellors to be fantasizing about charging their students even higher fees, and plunging them into over ₤32,000 Sterling of debt” – Wes Streeting, National Union of Students
Referring to students:
“They feel they can make all kinds of demands… Fees give a clear and tangible form to the idea of students as consumers… The relationship with the student is no longer academic; it’s a service provider and customer. The academic relationship is threatened with extinction” – Professor F. Furedi – Academic at the University of Kent.
The shift from knowledge to information in higher places of learning can be better commented on by others; however education has become a commodity. It is not subject to the stock exchange, but it is a commodity that must be bought, because the public sector, by reputation, does not seem to be providing what is nurturing, and sustainable. It is a commodity that the governments can no longer afford, and as such is the reason for considering alternatives, not the welfare of the students. The government that is so willing to penalize a potential citizen (or/and their parents) for not going to school, should invest time, and thought into providing an education system that is not only accessible to the student population regardless of income, but is no longer categorized as cheap, affordable, and just too expensive!
Document:
Sources:
Coughlan, S. “No Fee Degrees’ University Plan” Accessed 6th July 2009
Coughlan, S. “Fees Fuel Campus Consumer Culture” Accessed 6th July 2009
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