From the “you get what you pay for” department, an AP story in the Louisville Courier-Journal indicates that college debt is pricing graduates out of teaching, social work, and other modestly paying public-service careers. So, the graduates get a decent education because they’re paying for it. Indiana does not get enough good teachers or quality social services because we are unwilling or unable to pay adequately for those services.
The report from the Indiana Public Interest Research Group says 28 percent of public university graduates and 46 percent of private college graduates in Indiana would face unmanageable debt payments on a starting teacher’s salary.
How unfortunate. College education costs are out of control. I don’t know the answer to this problem but I can tell you I know teachers with over $30,000. in debts. I think most graduates are going to have some loans racked up prior to graduation. The 21st Century Scholars program has helped many underprivilidged students attend college. I would like to see more done to assist middle class families in this arena.
And this tidbit for students with outstanding gpa’s and SAT/ACT scores. Princeton University has a NO LOAN policy. In otherwards they take care of anything more then what parents are able to contribute as determined by their FAFSA. Last year was the first graduating class with NO LOANS hanging over their heads. It’s not well advertised so I wanted young Hoosiers to know about it.
It would be to see some of our Indiana universities develop similar programs. Of course it takes a large endowment but that’s the starting point.
This is an interesting thread.
There is one reason and one reason only that college tuition has skyrocketed. Government involvement in something it should have stayed out of…
The Federal government got really involved in education in education in the 1960’s. They poor BILLIONS of dollars into education. College tuition rises because of all the free Federal and State money that students get. This allows colleges to charge ever more and more in tuition.
Then the students get a large amount of debt and the government decides to poor EVEN MORE money in. This in turn causes the colleges tuition to rise even more and the cycle continues.
We need to get The Feeral government 100% out of education. The States should each handle education for themselves.
We also need to learn that spending more money is NOT the answer…
I have to disagree about the federal government staying out of education, particularly higher education. I think it has been federal infusions of money into our research universities that has made us the most technologically advanced country on the planet.
Absolutely right, Doug. Without the support of the Federal Government most of our medical and scientific research would not happen. Research takes a great deal of money to keep up with the the rest of the world. Complain all you wish about the liberal acadamia but be sure to thank them for their contributions that benefit all of us.
Example: Cornell University’s Biomolecular Chemical Engineering Dept. is currently testing a new medication to treat Alzheimers. They are in clincial trials now. Not only has it proven to stop Alzheimers but it has also returned some cognitive functioning. This may also contribute to other anti-immune illnesses…….like MS or Parkinsons. Some of this science involves the use of Nano Tech. Cornell has just built one of the finest Nano Research Centers in the world……how? Through grants from the Federal Government.
Princeton University’s Biomolecular Chemical Eng. Dept. is currently researching a cancer treatment that may eliminate Chemo. It’s an inhalent and uses polymers and of course Nano Science. Funded by the Federal Government.
Don’t ask me to explain any more then that…..my son is involved in this type of research. He’s the one who keeps me updated on all of this.
We will just have to 100% disagree on this one my friends…
It sounds like you both are saying that pooring more money into Higher Education is good due to the research it produces. I am sure that some of the research is good; but, most of it is a waste of my money.
Our government and colleges research so many useless things it would be hard to list them here and they spend my money to do it. Some recent examples of government funded research at colleges include:
1. How to develop better gay relations.
2. The percentage of gay men who meet in public bathrooms.
3. How many species of turtles exist in the world.
4. How much several species of turtles have evolved over the last two hundred years.
5. The average length of the pinkie finger of African Americans as compared to asians…
The list goes on and on.
I think the Federal government should spend some money on research. They should spend that money on specific projects that are good for America; unfortunately, that is NOT happening today.
I am not against research. For example, if The Federal government wants to team up with 5 universities and subsidize research on making more fuel efficient cars I would be for that…
Instead we research EVERYTHING, no matter how useless it is.
Mike
And from that I guess your not interested in National Security either. Here in Indiana several colleges are participating in projects to keep our country safer. For instance Retina eye scanning is currently being reasearched for identification purposes. This is especially important to our most secure areas. This is being funded by Homeland Security. One Hoosier university involved is Univ. of Notre Dame.
The National Science foundation offers grants to undergraduates so they can get actual reasearch experiance in the summer. It’s important for young people to gain this experience so they will enter the work force or acadamia better prepared. This may seem like a waste to you but our nations ability to keep up with the rest of the world depends on this. Waste? NO. I can only speak from my own children’s experiences. My oldest participated in his first NSF research a few years ago. The research was in nano technology. Was it a waste? NO. As a 20 year old he had a major break through. He figured out how to make the memory in computers much larger in a smaller area. That research result came from a simple 3500.00 grant made by NSF. Pretty cheap considering the technological advances made in every type of computer used in every way thinkable throughout the U.S took a huge leap forward and beyond. Hey don’t you like your Nano IPod? It’s also being used in military technology to make them better able to do their job. I call that a bargain.