THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE - #251

THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©

AN IRREVERENT VIEW


Time Line: January 10, 2009
Date Line: Flemington New Jersey

“Ivy” has gone Hollywood with a seasoning of Wall Street for that lean and mean flavor. A student can’t buy an education for less than $42,000 a year and some schools cost almost twice that much. The reasons are overspending hubris, and a customer base temporarily willing to pay the freight.

The result is that;
… unnecessary buildings get built;
…college athletic complexes rival professional venues;
…football coaches earn more than the President of the US;
…administrators replace teachers;
…administrative costs grow;
…academic budgets shrink;
…more courses are taught by teaching assistants, and
…Johnnie can’t be sure of a job after graduation;

Publicly funded institutions are joining their private peers; costs for tuition are escalating and State college charges per credit hour have risen exponentially over the past five years. While some schools like New York City’s colleges provide, (at relatively nominal cost), a superb curriculum and programs in athletics and the arts, they are not a nation-wide option. Families are faced with the question: Is a college degree necessary?

The answer is a resounding. “YES”.

If in reckoning age today’s 60 is your grandfather’s 40, today’s college degree is like grandfather’s high school diploma. Education is the ticket to the job market; a graduate degree is essential to get beyond the mailroom.

In consequence, youth beggars itself hoping to earn future security. The costs and effort are wasted if the economy does not employ its graduates and provide them with long term career opportunities. In Wall Street’s terms, kids that borrow for education are issuing “derivatives” based on future earning power, (like financial institutions that guaranty sub-prime debt on the basis of skimpy balance sheets).

So do we care and what can we do?

To revitalize the economy and compete in global markets we must educate the coming generations. We can’t tell private institutions how to run their affairs, but State and Federal colleges are funded by our taxes and responsible to the public. By using the ballot box we can assure that a student with good grades will not be turned down for, (or unable to afford), an education in his state’s higher education system.

For every Obama who clawed his way through the system by excellence and willpower, there are thousands equally bright who do not. We can’t waste those intellects. We can demand that our tax dollars are devoted to education as a priority. Spending for education must center on instruction, not construction. Administrative costs must be limited to those necessary to make instruction available and excellent.

Athletic budgets at a college should be geared to the needs of the student body as a whole, not to departments that grant non-academic scholarships to athletes who will compete in nationally televised sports. That activity may have value in terms of school pride, student morale, and alumni interest, but it should not be a budget element that increases the cost of instruction.

We have a lot to accomplish in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, technological work force and pre-eminence in the market place. Education can take us to those goals; failure to educate means a society where “Do you want fries with that?’ is the best career option available to your children or grandchildren.

Howard Stamer