One of the proposals in the State of the Union was to reduce tuition costs for students going to US community colleges. The Associate’s degree has become the key for many Americans who want to learn a skill or obtain a certificate to get a better job, or just a job, period. Community colleges also serve as the gateway for students who perhaps were not as academically prepared in high school to get a higher education footing before transferring to a four-year institution. I don’t think many people would understate the importance of community college to society for job preparation and upward mobility for many Americans. Therefore it sounds reasonable to make the tuition costs more affordable for current and prospective students… but there is a trap within this seemingly noble plan.
When the government (local/state/federal) provides more financial aid to students, then higher education institutions increase tuition. The more the beast gets fed, the more hungry the beast becomes for more money. It has become a never-ending cycle that has led to higher education tuition increases far out-stripping inflation or any rational measure (this is even moreso at 4-year schools than 2-year ones). The sad fact is most of the additional revenue has not gone to classrooms, but instead to bloated and useless administrators/staff. Over 70% of instructors at community colleges are part-time adjuncts, which means they are not able to form close relationships with the institution or its students. This is compounded by the fact that community college students are the type who need the most assistance and would benefit from it. Unfortunately accrediting boards are cowards, and don’t call the community colleges ‘leadership’ on this disservice to students. Accreditors are only interested in seeing mounds of paperwork with dotted “i’s” and crossed “t’s” as well as a check that is ready to be cashed. It should not be too much to ask for no more than 40% of a community college’s instructors be part-timers, and even that percentage is too high. Imagine if your high school teachers were part-timers shuttling around from institution to institution to teach classes. A good school primarily needs three things: good teachers, good students, and good resources (labs, software, books, etc.). The administrators themselves are, for the most part, superfluous, but they draw the largest salaries for contributing almost nothing in most cases, and they love the sound of more government flowing in so they can keep raising tuition without providing additional value. Students should protest this as it is their hard-earned money being spent for tuition and then wasted at these institutions. And if it’s financial aid being wasted, then it’s still your money derived from sales and income taxes. Unfortunately, we live in a culture dominated by apathy and despair, so even with money on the line, no one questions how their invested money gets spent.
Originally posted: http://www.mccarthyism.com/2015/20150123.htm
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