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So @PlanetMoney released an episode of the cost of going to college this fall https://www.npr.org/2020/07/31/897983620/college-fails
It failed to address many things. Here's my thread which covers a bunch of things they got wrong.
It failed to address many things. Here's my thread which covers a bunch of things they got wrong.
A Rutgers student started a petition in order to not pay full cost since Rutgers will be online in the fall.
Here's a link to the petition https://www.change.org/p/rutgers-university-tuition-cut-for-fall-2020
Here's a link to the petition https://www.change.org/p/rutgers-university-tuition-cut-for-fall-2020
Host Amanda Aronczyk asks a common question: why should students pay for things if they aren’t even going to be on campus this semester?
Shreya Patel, the Rutgers student, sums up what she’s paying per semester:
$171 for computer fees
$139 for a school fee
$1347 for a campus fee
$6300 for tuition
$171 for computer fees
$139 for a school fee
$1347 for a campus fee
$6300 for tuition
Shreya says we shouldn’t need to pay for all of these fees and tuition if she’s “just getting an online education”.
Well, because an online education is just as expensive as in-person, even @Forbes wrote about it https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2018/06/25/why-college-tuition-is-actually-higher-for-online-programs/#3b8bc7def11a
Well, because an online education is just as expensive as in-person, even @Forbes wrote about it https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2018/06/25/why-college-tuition-is-actually-higher-for-online-programs/#3b8bc7def11a
I guess we should start by asking what those fees cover. Helpfully Rutgers breaks down what each fee goes towards: https://studentabc.rutgers.edu/payments/fees-descriptions
Why does Rutgers charge fees? With a quick Google search, Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab explains campus fees here: https://tcf.org/content/report/the-real-price-of-college/
From that article: “More than one-third of states have frozen or capped tuition increases over the past decade but this often has failed to substantially reduce prices, because other costs of attending college continue to rise”
There’s a history of states capping tuition, which seems like it should be included in a podcast about the economy. https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/Postsecondary-Tuition-Capping-and-Freezing.pdf
On top of states capping tuition there’s a history of cutting aid, which means increases in net costs for students. Table 1 in https://tcf.org/content/report/the-real-price-of-college/
Host Amanda Aronczyk asks: “why would you pay for things that you're not getting?”
Hold up. WHAT?!
What services are Rutgers students not getting? That question is not addressed.
Hold up. WHAT?!
What services are Rutgers students not getting? That question is not addressed.
Advisors are still working (check out #acadv), student affairs pros are still working ( #sachat), librarians are still working, faculty are learning how to teach online.
Robert Kelchen, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Co-Chair, is introduced! https://www.shu.edu/profiles/robertkelchen.cfm
Professor Kelchen spoke about how Rutgers doesn’t have as much flexibility as some other institutions because: UNIONS.
Professor Kelchen spoke about how Rutgers doesn’t have as much flexibility as some other institutions because: UNIONS.
Professor Kelchen could have talked about the history of states cutting aid or the increased administrative burden from unfunded mandates. But no. Unions.
Also from Kelchen, on community colleges: “They're not worried about having enough students to enroll.” WHAT?! Have you looked at enrollment trends over the past 10 years in the northeast?
Some fact checking on that statement would have been nice. Here are all SUNY institutions, which you can sort by type of institution. Almost all CCs have decreasing enrollments. http://lohud.nydatabases.com/database/enrollment-suny-universities-and-colleges-2015-2018
Kelchen: “There are going to be a lot of really upset students and families in a couple of weeks when more colleges say, oh, sorry, we have to go online for the fall"
I actually agree with this.
I actually agree with this.
Back to Shreya: “They cut 15% off of the campus fees, so not 15% of the tuition - just the fees - like, ends up being equivalent to about less than $300, basically.”
Except, the focus has been on services *not being used*. Tuition covers things like paying professors, staff, and administrators. They’re all still working.
If @PlanetMoney wanted to know how tuition is spent, Rutgers is a public institution and is pretty open about how tuition covers things! https://studentabc.rutgers.edu/tuition-fees/tuition-fees-rates
I am so disappointed with this episode. I wish @PlanetMoney had spoken to experts about college costs, especially public college costs, like @saragoldrickrab or @tressiemcphd or @deandad
