Day: October 7, 2020

I am looking forward to an engaging discussion this week as we explore strategies to keep costs under control while increasing student learning and graduation rates. As a reminder, you should cite from the resources in your initial posting and in your responses to at least two colleagues.

I recommend that you list the following questions, followed by your response:

What general strategies might you suggest?
What strategies can you think of that might work to achieve one or both of the goals?
Which you would not recommend, and why?

A.  First colleagues discussion is:
Some people believe that by lowering costs of tuition, its undervaluing a college degree and the university, but cutting costs in some departments does not make it any less of a higher education institution.  Higher Education tuitions and fees increase every year and has become unaffordable to some students leading them to either put off college for a couple of years to work, seek loans or grants that may put them into debt, or decide to not go at all (Dickler, 2019). This hurts society because as said and believed by many the more educated society is the more society thrives, so by lowering some tuitions costs, the college applicant rate may increase, leading to the increase of graduation rates, leading to a more educated society.

A cost that affects tuition today is the demand for remedial classes; the institution is paying for adjunct professors to teach these courses which means they must charge the student to be able to offer remedial courses (Jonstone, 2001). Many students nowadays know long before their first semester of college that they will need to take a remedial course, so a solution to this may be for the university to develop an online, transferable, little to no cost program or course that allows students to take remedial courses from home, while attending high school or college. And because the student will be attending high school or college, either way they will still have resources (such as library, tutoring center, instructors, books, technology, etc.) available to help them complete the course/program.

Many students attending public universities seek loans or grants to help pay for college, but by the time they graduate and have not yet started a career, they already owe a large debt. At times, this debt has accumulated over the course of their schooling not only because of tuition costs, but also because the student does not know how to manage their loan. Students borrow well over the amount, they receive it as a lump sum and instead of giving it back or saving it, they spend it on luxuries rather than necessities. The university can prevent this by requiring students to attend a financial literacy class every time they accept a loan offer and /or at set up a  disbursement program (through the universities financial aid or accounts payable department) that will only distribute funds necessary for college costs and not as a lump sum, but as a monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly pay check. This will help students manage their loans wisely as well as teach them to manage their finances in their futures. For those students who do manage their loans wisely, but still owe a large debt, there are programs that help repay a partial amount of the loan or eliminate the loan amount altogether, but are there enough programs? Society demands higher education to develop it, as follows society grows more knowledgeable and gains more opportunities, thus society can and should provide more programs/opportunities that will help students pay off or eliminate their debt.

It has become public knowledge that higher education is one of the major expenses that a person is likely to make in their life (Dickler, 2019), but it should not mean that they are in debt for the rest of their life.

References

Dickler, J. (2019, October 24). Why College Tuition Keeps Rising. Retrieved from CNBC Personal Finance: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/24/why-college-tuition-keeps-rising.html

Jonstone, D. B. (2001). Chapter 6: Higher Education and Those “Out-of-Control Costs”. In P. J. Phillip G. Altbach, In Defense of American Higher Education (pp. 145-178). Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press. this paragraph need be very strong  and good reference….

B. the next colleague is differ paragraph am looking forward to an engaging discussion this week as we explore strategies to keep costs under control while increasing student learning and graduation rates. As a reminder, you should cite from the resources in your initial posting and in your responses to at least two colleagues.

I recommend that you list the following questions, followed by your response:

What general strategies might you suggest?
What strategies can you think of that might work to achieve one or both of the goals?
Which you would not recommend, and why?

the next colleague paragraph: There are a few strategies that universities can use to increase student learning, but controlling costs at the same time. Many people know that higher education prices continue to increase and this results in a rise in student debt. One if the things to look at before thinking of solution and strategies are some reasons to why rates are increasing. State funding has fell by 7.6% and tuition increases due to cuts in funding (Zipper, 16). Funding will be stabilized as the economy grows, but this can take a while. Also, while funding has decreased the administrative costs are increasing. This includes all of the professional employees and non-academic administrative employees. Many employees want to be paid more for the work that they do, and this is its whole issue on its own.

          Embracing technology is definitely a strategy that can be used. Online programs can cost savings to many colleges. It allows institutions to serve more students because they are now not limited to the amount of space in a class room. It also lowers infrastructure costs if more students are online. There are many student success resources like career counseling, the library, and academic support that can all be accessed over the Internet. Another strategy is giving students the option to use open educational resources. Of course, these should be written by professionals, be peer-reviewed, etc. This can save students the costs of spending money on a variety of textbooks that must be new edition. If professors have the ability to customize courses themselves then this makes this opportunity easier.The idea of competency-based education is important also. This allows students to finish school faster. This means that they can comp out by proving that they already have the skills and knowledge for certain courses (Zipper,16). Many schools require prerequisites that students have already done in high school, etc. If students can test and prove they know the information then these extra classes should not be necessary.

Students also rely heavily on financial aid. Many students may not even apply for college if they cannot receive the amounts they need because it may not cover the tuition cost. The U.S Department of Education explains how the entire financial aid system doesnt always direct aid to those who truly need it. It is a consuming, inefficient, and duplicative process. It is having issues keeping up with rising tuition and this is something that needs to be figured out (USDOE, 06). This decreases graduation rates because people wont even try to apply due to feeling discouraged. This will lead to a more uneducated society which is the last thing this nation needs.

      What I would not recommend is looking for any other reason to have to increase the tuition for universities. I understand that some things must be done, but it should be a priority to make schools as affordable as possible for students. Also, I would not recommend for students to overborrow because this can set them back in the long run also. It is important to compare all options of funding college and seeing all the different loans out there.

References:

A TEST OF LEADERSHIP Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education. (2006). Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/reports/final-report.pdf

Zipper, T. (2016, May 25). Strategies for Controlling Cost in Higher Education. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from http://www.uncompromisingedu.com/2016/05/25/four-strategies-for-controlling-cost-in-higher-education/