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Mister D
02-06-2012, 01:44 PM
Race to the Top” federal handouts, increasing Pell Grants, and executive-branch decrees won’t lower college tuition or improve the quality of university degrees, despite President Obama’s bluster in his State of the Union address. If only it were that simple.The truth is that over the next decade, many universities may bankrupt themselves by clinging to an educational approach that confuses lecturing with learning and protects highly paid, tenured faculties and administrators from a tsunami of technological change that soon will deliver transformational learning at a fraction of today’s costs.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/290127/real-problems-higher-ed-jeff-sandefer

Peter1469
02-06-2012, 01:49 PM
As the federal government pushed more and more money into higher education, universities were more than happy to raise tuition at rates much higher than inflation. They are essentially destroying their own market by over pricing their services. Many universities won't be able to trim down to sustainable levels. Many will fail, and new sustainable models will rise.

Mister D
02-06-2012, 01:52 PM
I for one don't think that will be a good thing. We've discussed before the notion that we send too many people to college anyway.

Conley
02-06-2012, 02:15 PM
Any kind of collapse will bring about a lot of collateral damage. Such transitions always do. I agree that the model is not sustainable and once again we have the government throwing money at the problem instead of encouraging real reform. It's the same issue I had with Obama's "health care reform" which was no reform at all, just adding more taxpayer money into the health system.

Mister D
02-06-2012, 07:17 PM
Many of friends are having kids or already have them and I'm just thinking how the heck are you going to afford college for them? It's just an automatic kind of thing these days. If I do have little uns I will make it clear that he/she is not expected to attend a university.

Conley
02-06-2012, 07:25 PM
I would do that and also say that if he/she wants to go to college he/she's going to need to work and earn some scholarships. I would probably push towards public schools only because of the costs, but it would depend on what the child wanted of course. There are some very good private schools with awesome networks if my little one wanted to be say, an evil investment banker. :grin:

Mister D
02-06-2012, 07:28 PM
I would do that and also say that if he/she wants to go to college he/she's going to need to work and earn some scholarships. I would probably push towards public schools only because of the costs, but it would depend on what the child wanted of course. There are some very good private schools with awesome networks if my little one wanted to be say, an evil investment banker. :grin:

Yeah, it's a good idea to impress that on them early. You need to excel academically now and take some of the burden of your old man. Hey, I'll take evil investment banker of OWS loser any day. :grin:

Peter1469
02-06-2012, 08:28 PM
Many of friends are having kids or already have them and I'm just thinking how the heck are you going to afford college for them? It's just an automatic kind of thing these days. If I do have little uns I will make it clear that he/she is not expected to attend a university.

Army college fund....

Mister D
02-06-2012, 09:20 PM
Army college fund....

Yeah, my brother joined the Marines. I would encourage that.

MMC
02-07-2012, 11:39 AM
I also directed my sons to Vocational Training as the alternative to College. Also Apprenticing out for the trades. As my youngest did not have the grades to get into college.

My oldest failed the ASVAB TEST twice so he won't be going into the military. My youngest is worse than my oldest when it comes to school and studying. So he won't be either. Then I mentioned becoming a Fireman since they cannot join the Police Academy.

Conley
02-07-2012, 11:42 AM
Firefighting is pretty competitive these days I think.

Community college for training is the way to go for many. The classes aren't expensive and you can get some good paying jobs with a two year degree. There are tons of health care opportunities. That's probably what I should have answered Clawhammer's hypothetical with the other day.