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Originally Posted by roachboy
Soaring student numbers pose funding and quality challenges for universities in OECD countries
there's alot i could say about this, but for the moment i'll limit myself to mentioning that this debate, like most in the states, could benefit from a less parochial frame of reference. this link goes to the oecd's 2008 report on higher education, and outlines a range of state-level strategies that have been adopted to address the questions of access to quality education and how to deal with its expense. the american system is outmoded, functioning mostly to reproduce the class system at the expense of enabling kids from a range of class backgrounds to access the best quality education they can manage.
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I think it is interesting that there is a trend in the world to "socializing" property, while knowledge is becoming more privatized. Public investment in privatized knowledge probably should trend lower.
-----Added 10/9/2008 at 03 : 05 : 41-----
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Originally Posted by dc_dux
I think Obama's "rhetoric" on higher ed is that his proposes $4000 tax credit that would make community college accessible to all and for-year state institutions more affordable....so your example of $100,000 cost over four years might just be a bit high.
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How many people actually want to go to college but can't? I would argue the number is zero.
I use simple numbers in examples, but the point was not in reference to $100K or $150K. The point was that if the real cost of higher education is $X, but that the stated cost is $X + aid, and the student pays $X then the aid had no impact on the real cost.
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A more realistic case would put the cost of a state uni at more like $10,000/yr....increasing to maybe $12,500 over four years....so Obama's tax credit would go from covering a fourth of the cost to a third.
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There are costs other tuition. Even at a state school what is the real cost of attending for four years? I think your number significantly underestimates that cost. But I do understand your point.
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Personally, I like the tax credit idea more than additional loan support because it takes the middlemen (lending institutions) out of the mix. And for kids from low income families, the opportunity for a community college or state uni education might not otherwise be available.
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Real change would be doing something like making community college tuition free for all who qualify. I would support that, and I think we could afford it, however, I would target all the higher education state and federal aid to that level. I think as a nation, at this point in time, 2 year degrees are a net benefit to society ( similar to a high school diploma is), a four year degree is a net benefit to the individual. I think this would be a more efficient use of government funds in higher education.