It is incontestably true the cost of going to college has been steadily climbing for decades. Tuition, mandatory student fees (which compel students to pay for a lot of … Continue reading “A Critical Look at Higher Education Spending”
RALEIGH – Intercollegiate Studies Institute Vice President for Programs Mike Ratliff uses a story about a University of Colorado student to discuss what he considers to be some of the problems with higher education today.
The student had originally intended to study engineering. However, some friends convinced him to change majors to communication studies in order to have more fun in college. When the student graduated, he found out that the only job he could gain were ones that required a high school degree. Even the military would only allow him to enter as an enlisted solider and not the officer training program.
March is the month sports fans refer to as “March Madness,” for good reason. The month is filled with conference basketball tournaments only to be followed by the annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament, along with a scattering of other events along the way.
But the “main event,” so to speak, is the NCAA tournament. Sixty-four college basketball games over the course of three weeks are enough to wet any sports fan’s appetite.
The attention placed on those games is what makes college administrators giddy with excitement. To the college administrators of the 65 teams selected for the tournament, it means more visibility they hope will eventually turn into increased alumni contributions or a higher number of college applicants.
Yes, it’s fun to sit down on the couch with your favorite adult beverage in one hand, the remote control in the other and a bowl of chips in your lap and watch every game from the play-in game to the championship game. However, do we pay similar attention to the academic failings of today’s colleges and universities as we do college sports? Chances are few if any understand the true landscape of the American public university system and some of the problems that it currently faces.
RALEIGH – University, community college, and state budget office officials have spent part of the week lobbying state legislators for more funding for higher education, while arguing against proposed line-item budget cuts.
University of North Carolina President Molly Broad, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser, and North Carolina A&T Chancellor James Renick have been among those making presentations to members of the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. The presentations, including those made by representatives from the community college system, focused on the theme of making college more affordable while increasing funding for university and community colleges needs.
RALEIGH – University, community college, and state budget office officials have spent part of the week lobbying state legislators for more funding for higher education, while arguing against proposed line-item budget cuts.
University of North Carolina President Molly Broad, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser, and North Carolina A&T Chancellor James Renick have been among those making presentations to members of the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. The presentations, including those made by representatives from the community college system, focused on the theme of making college more affordable while increasing funding for university and community colleges needs.
RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley’s proposed budget would give substantial increases in funding to the state’s public universities, as well as the community college system.
Easley’s proposed budget was released Wednesday during a presentation with members of the Joint Appropriations Committee. Funding for the University of North Carolina represents 8.7 percent of the proposed $16.9 billion general fund budget.
CHAPEL HILL — Members of a Christian fraternity are one step closer to gaining official recognition from UNC-Chapel Hill after a federal court hearing Wednesday that led to a possible out-of-court settlement.
Federal Judge Frank W. Bullock Jr. set a deadline Feb. 28 for UNC-Chapel Hill and Alpha Iota Omega to reach an agreement on how to change the university’s nondiscrimination policy to include the Christian group. Bullock’s deadline is based on a lawsuit filed Aug. 25 after AIO was denied funding by the school because members refused to sign a nondiscrimination policy. It had wanted to limit membership to Christians.
The recent proposal to raise tuition at UNC-Chapel Hill by $250 a year has produced the predictable squeals of student outrage. Like most faculty members, I suspect, I’m less than sympathetic to students whose family incomes are higher than mine.
One of the most important lessons anyone can learn about politics is that when government sets out to accomplish some objective, it often winds up doing the opposite. Rent control laws, for example, are supposed to help the non-wealthy who want urban housing, but the effect of rent control is to diminish both the quantity and quality of rental housing available.
With that point in mind, let’s consider federal student aid programs. Congress has established a variety of grant and loan programs (budgeted this year at some $73 billion) which were supposed to help make college more affordable to millions of non-wealthy families. As the cost of attending college has risen, politicians have increased the amount of aid available. The trouble is that by doing so, the government gives colleges an incentive to further increase tuition charges.
Just three months after his campaign to become the Vice President of the United States ended, former Senator John Edwards has been given a new job that seems designed to keep him, at least occasionally, in the public eye.
Edwards is going to become the Director of a new organization called the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity (CPWO for short) that will officially be a part of the Law School at UNC-Chapel Hill. His title will be University Professor. He will give occasional guest lectures and do whatever directing the CPWO entails. For that work, he’ll be paid $40,000 annually. That’s a lot less than a senator is paid, but money is really no object for the millionaire lawyer.
