Why College Has To Remain Affordable?

By

Dr. Michael A. Robinson

"The flattening of the world is moving ahead apace, and nothing is going to stop it. What can happen is a decline in our standard of living if more Americans are not empowered and educated to participate in a world where all the knowledge centers are being connected. We have within our society all the ingredients for American individuals to thrive in such a world, but if we squander these ingredients, we will stagnate” (Thomas Friedman, 2005).

The 21^st century has brought with it challenging and exciting opportunities, a new world of discoveries and possibilities and at the thrust of this amazing time is technology.  In this century, the economy of developed and developing countries have come to rely on knowledge power and intellectual capabilities and less on brute strength and intimidation. This new world order with its changing domains will have the capabilities of turning giants into mortals and mortals into kings. A potential future for America and its economy unless considerable efforts are made to ensure Americans have access to post secondary education. The once clear lead highly developed countries such as the United States had in the educational arena is quickly evaporating as developing countries are rapidly increasing their number and quality of college graduates, while equalizing the access rates to education for those attending secondary and primary schools.

Trouble Brewing Abroad

“Globalization is upon us and universities need to prepare their students accordingly. Colleges and universities must be focused on improving our students’ global competency, providing our next generation of leaders with the ability to think critically – to think globally – in all situations and competing with people from various cultures” (Todd, 2005).

China and India both have about five times as many engineering undergraduates and the United States now graduate only about 7 percent of engineers worldwide.

Access Denied Equals Dreams Altered

Deficits in basic skills cost businesses, colleges and under prepared high school graduates up to $16 billion annually in lost productivity and remedial costs (Capriccioso, 2005).            Without authentic open access to an education that is ensured through affordable tuition, adequate financial aid and flexible course scheduling and delivery, the dream of millions of Americans will never be realized and the competitiveness of United States in the global marketplace will erode. 

The ongoing battle to ensure student success from K-16 with the goal of increasing the number of college graduates while improving the quality of the workforce is a major theme of President Obama. By 2020 President Obama believes America can regain its place as the world’s greatest producers of college graduates.  Through his desire to return America back to it’s a place of world prominence in post secondary education, President Obama’s goal will require nearly doubling the number of students currently enrolled in post secondary institutions.  A tall order when the rising cost of a college education threatens to shut down this dream for millions of students across America.

There are two primary factors standing in the way of achieving the goal of increased post secondary graduation rates by the year 2020. For this discussion I will only focus on one factor. The first factor is the issue of access and affordability which is predicated on the cost of post-secondary education; the second factor is the increasing percentage of high school students who are not college ready upon graduation. There are other factors, but these two directly represent the pathway by which success of post-secondary attainment by 2020 will travel.  However, before exploring those factors, it would be wise to ground this issue in what is at stake for America and Americans. In 2000, author John McCabe stated by year 2010 more than 80 percent of jobs will require some form of post-secondary education. McCabe went on to say that over 60% of the jobs that will be needed by 2010 did not currently exist at the time of the writing of his book. What Mr. McCabe was attempting to say was that the job marketing was changing and as a result the need for a changing workforce was required.

Some 12 years after McCabe’s research similar numbers are being discussed. According to a report conducted by Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, titled “Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018” there will be an estimated 47 million jobs available. More than 63 percent will require some form of post-secondary education. This figure as outlined in the report is an increase of 4 percent from a rate of 59 percent in 2011 regarding those jobs requiring some form of post-secondary education.

Obtaining a college diploma is perhaps more crucial today than anytime in America’s history. As the challenges from abroad continue to expand while simultaneously the power monetary currency is being combined with the power of knowledge, the need for an educated workforce becomes pertinent to the ability of any country to strive.  The desire of all Americans to have a post-secondary education is being hampered by the increasing burden of the average American family to pay for college. 

Recently released data from the U. S. Department of Education reveals for the first time in America’s history the debt associated with obtaining a college education has surpassed American’s credit card debt. So what does this means for America, America’s future and the future of all young Americans who aspire to obtain a college degree? There are several ramifications, meanings or it means that students are starting out of as newly minted college graduates on average with more than $26,000 in debt and a less than robust job market than the one their parents and perhaps grandparents entered upon completion of their college degree.

Funding The Dream

Factor One (Access and affordability)

Institutions of higher education with an open access policy are driving community Access and affordability depend more on the price students actually pay for college than on the published tuition levels. Considerable effort must be made to guarantee that whatever levels of tuition prevail, all low-income students who can benefit from higher education have access to sufficient grant funds to enroll and succeed in college (Baum, 2005).  The impact of less state and federal support can be felt among three classes of students. The three fastest-growing and overlapping segments of the population most likely to be at risk for losing access to a college education are: (1) adults, particularly those with lower education levels; (2) low-income populations; and (3) members of certain ethnic groups, particularly those who identify themselves on census forms as black or African American or of Hispanic or Latino. The challenge will be to increase participation and attainment levels of these populations (Ruppert, 2003).