The Sad Truth about Higher Education

While the cost of higher education has risen exponentially in the past few decades, some parents and students are asking themselves an important question - is college worth the cost? In a recent episode of CNN's This Hour, Prof. Richard Arum of New York University and Prof. Kathy Davidson of the City University of New York weighed in with their thoughts. Both agreed that having a college degree is essential in creating an intelligent society and a promising future; they also  agreed that the system of education is completely flawed. Students are paying hefty college tuitions and are graduating with an average of $30,000 or more.The horrible truth is that students are just not getting the type of education that is tantamount to the money that they are paying to get a degree, and if we keep going down this road, people are just going to stop going to college. What will happen then?

The fact of the matter is the education that should be equivalent to the tuition cost of many colleges is not as rigorous or demanding as it should be. Local and state governments need to start taking a look at what is happening in terms of academic experience and student growth, see that there is a problem, and do something about it. Meanwhile, the cost of higher education has risen 1000% over the last century, and that is just not acceptable. Prof. Davidson stated that 80% of the students that graduate from CUNY have no student debt, and attests this to the fact the New York invests 51% of their operating costs into colleges. "Either we pay collectively as a society," she said, "or our students pay, and then we pay in the future by not having a future..." Davidson reported that other states invest as low as 8% and that's why college tuition has skyrocketed.  Without education, there would be no leaders, no industry, no America. In my opinion, having a future in which we all help to make education affordable and available is MUCH better than not having a future at all.