Tuition Costs Up Again?

[BillBrasky4Cy]

This always ends up being exaggerated though, by some who want to diminish the importance of higher education.

There's high demand now because of good times. A lot of those jobs tend to be highly affected by economic downturns, and overall that diminishes the value there, as even if you make good money in good times, you may have to balance that against a higher chance of unemployment vs someone with a higher education degree.

Yes, economic conditions could definitely come into play but the average age of Tradesman is really high and they are retiring at a rapid rate. It's not a matter of devaluing education, it's a matter of people getting past the cliche that everyone needs to achieve a bachelors degree to be successful.

 

[alarson]

Yeah we shouldn't, you know, put it on the people who decide what they want to go to school for and decide what their career path is. Someone else should do that.

Yeah, i guess we should start billing kids for high school too. That wasnt always viewed as essential.

 

[Stormin]

Yes, economic conditions could definitely come into play but the average age of Tradesman is really high and they are retiring at a rapid rate. It's not a matter of devaluing education, it's a matter of people getting past the cliche that everyone needs to achieve a bachelors degree to be successful.

In the future those tradesmen will have to work more years when Republicans raise the retirement age.

IMO the quest to get a College degree is more about trying to increase earning potential. And also to land a job that is not as physically demanding. Working as a carpenter is much easier at age 20, 30, or 40. Hit 60 and the aches and pains take over big time.

 

[bozclone]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to a trade school. I didn't go that route but there are HUGE opportunities there because the supply of tradesman can't even touch the high demand.

I agree. I think 4 year schools run the risk of pricing themselves out of the market. More and more kids are picking a trade school, a community college, or a satellite school as a less expensive way to better themselves.

 

[knowlesjam]

Eye opening to me is the ever widening gap between resident and non-resident tuition. I always thought that there is a roughly $10K gap between the two. It is at UNI, but ISU will see the gap widen to $14K and a jaw dropping $22K at Iowa. No wonder the schools are increasing the numbers of non-resident students...they are the cash cows...in fact, the number of resident students at Iowa has actually dropped (per the Register article).

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...-funding-model-broken-universities/312990001/

 

[2forISU]

I agree. I think 4 year schools run the risk of pricing themselves out of the market. More and more kids are picking a trade school, a community college, or a satellite school as a less expensive way to better themselves.

That's a good thing. There is a huge need for people with specific trades in the market.

Just an example, Ohio State University just pumped out 12,000 undergrads this Sunday. The market is going to be flooded with degrees, but no jobs.

 

[Entropy]

I agree. I think 4 year schools run the risk of pricing themselves out of the market. More and more kids are picking a trade school, a community college, or a satellite school as a less expensive way to better themselves.

If that's the case, we aren't seeing it locally, and it's not being seen nationally.
Check out Figure 1.
https://trends.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/trends-in-community-colleges-research-brief.pdf

In my 10 years in community colleges in IA, the one thing that I have seen directly affect CC enrollment is a bad economy. It's pretty much a guarantee.

We could see a shift to your way of thinking, but that's going to require a sea change in how we run education from my view of things.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Yeah, i guess we should start billing kids for high school too. That wasnt always viewed as essential.

Your argument is bad. High school isn't specialized. Sure, there's large differences in qualities of high school education but no one is coming out of any high school prepared for any sort of specific career path. The whole point of college is to take a basic education and specialize it for a certain career path.

 

[Tre4ISU]

I agree. I think 4 year schools run the risk of pricing themselves out of the market. More and more kids are picking a trade school, a community college, or a satellite school as a less expensive way to better themselves.

As they should be. Some majors do require a full education at a University, for sure, but a lot of them don't.

 

[Entropy]

As they should be. Some majors do require a full education at a University, for sure, but a lot of them don't.

That's true for certain jobs, but what about the career of an individual?

Here's an example where I work: 2 year Biotechnology degree.

Sounds like a great plan, it's a hot area where the industry is growing, and it's getting automated enough that you don't have to make and design everything from scratch. Should be a no brainer for a 2 year degree right?

We're shutting out program down next spring. It's not taking off (and we aren't the only ones, they are shutting down across the state and across the country).

What's the problem?

1. There's a lot of competition from those who bring a BA/BS, even if they don't have all the hard skills (they can be trained and taught). It provides a good avenue for all those folks who don't quite make the cut for med/dental/pharmacy skill out of U of Iowa.

2. Moving up into management/other roles is easier if you bring a more diverse skill set to the table.

Maybe it's just me, but with an economy where "the side hustle" is becoming a more common approach, training for one specific type of skill set/job seems short sighted.

Just my humble opinion, your mileage may vary.

 

[Tre4ISU]

That's true for certain jobs, but what about the career of an individual?

Here's an example where I work: 2 year Biotechnology degree.

Sounds like a great plan, it's a hot area where the industry is growing, and it's getting automated enough that you don't have to make and design everything from scratch. Should be a no brainer for a 2 year degree right?

We're shutting out program down next spring. It's not taking off (and we aren't the only ones, they are shutting down across the state and across the country).

What's the problem?

1. There's a lot of competition from those who bring a BA/BS, even if they don't have all the hard skills (they can be trained and taught). It provides a good avenue for all those folks who don't quite make the cut for med/dental/pharmacy skill out of U of Iowa.

2. Moving up into management/other roles is easier if you bring a more diverse skill set to the table.

Maybe it's just me, but with an economy where "the side hustle" is becoming a more common approach, training for one specific type of skill set/job seems short sighted.

Just my humble opinion, your mileage may vary.

I agree with that and I think in the future you're going to see a lot of people with multiple jobs as sort of contracted workers doing similar things for different companies, mostly remotely. I'm not even necessarily for reduced schooling. I've used myself before, but I think a year long continuous internship, possibly during my junior year would have been much more productive in actually learning what my future career can or will involve than spending those hours in the classroom. Not that I'd get rid of those 300 courses, it would be more of the 100 and 200 courses. I also realize that my specific career probably leans pretty heavily on the experience piece for actually learning how to do what I do relative to others.

 

[SCarolinaCy]

The number one problem driving up college costs is employee salaries, specifically, professors and administrators. University presidents highlight and promote the fact that their school pays its professors more than XYZ with the implication the student is receiving a better education, and will (therefore) receive better job offers. They constantly search out statistics that show their employees are underpaid, and need salary bumps.

If a business CEO based his worth on having the highest paid employees in his industry, he would be roundly called out and most likely fired.