Anyone can tell you how expensive college is, and there are many out there complaining about its unfairness. It wasn’t until recently that the government began stepping in and actually helping those who wish to attend college but can’t afford it. Furthermore, Obama discussed plans to lower debt payments for those currently in college, and, as a surprise to many, the new proposals are pure genius.
The system’s current trajectory is not sustainable. Obama made this clear, schools with high attendance but low graduation rates make this crystal clear, and students graduating with $80,000 in debt make this more clear than Crystal Pepsi. Obscure 90s references aside, the problem is that higher education has always been considered a luxury until this generation. With a college degree almost mandatory for a middle-class lifestyle, it is no longer a luxury—so why is it still treated like one? Just looking at the sticker price of some colleges, you would think some institutions are trying to be like Saks Fifth Avenue charging $900 for a scarf. It’s as if they are raising the cost of tuition to flaunt this facade of providing a premium product that in reality is as “premium” as premium steaks at Wal-Mart.
But here is where there’s hope: President Obama has actually been out on the field, talking face-to-face with college presidents, students, consultants and economists. He knows what these colleges need from the direct sources, and his plan is based off of the feedback he has received.
I feel that in order to create a strong foundation for post-recession America, we must begin this at the university level, making it affordable for those eager to go. Colleges must not “price out the middle class,” as Obama has mentioned.
So here’s my solution, taken partially from Obama’s plan and partially from what I think would be ideal. It’s one simple fix: get rid of the archaic rating system that only considers economically useless information. Interesting but overall pointless data such as student/teacher ratio, retention rate and SAT/ACT scores of incoming freshman are just a few of the ways colleges are rated now.
We must rate schools on value—the pure, intrinsic value that a student receives from attending that college. How much tangible and intangible bang for your buck can you get? What are your chances of actually scoring a job after graduation? How much average debt does a graduating senior have? These values are what matters most to students and should be the core focus of modern colleges.
Georgia State ranks 362nd in the current system, but I think it could jump ahead of many other colleges if it were to be ranked on a more complex economic value. Besides, Georgia State offers more opportunities to a wider variety of cultures than many other colleges, and Obama mentioned that schools will be given incentives to do just that in the future.
While all of the points Obama brought up in his speech are positive and helpful to many in theory, actually succeeding in passing many of these groundbreaking ideas will be a tough battle. The thought of rating schools based on how innovative and effective they are is just what we need right now.
To create incentives programs for universities to innovate in ways to lower the cost of college is absolutely genius—and it would all be funded by the government. Finally, a form of welfare that will benefit the masses and be easy and innovative to its core. That’s something we can all look forward to.
