The inestimable Jim Bacon opines on the German model of post-secondary education versus the bloated American model:
In a fascinating article in Marketplace, Kirk Carapezza profiles the University of Cologne, Germany’s largest university, with 48,000 students. The university includes a law school and medical school. The average cost of an undergraduate degree in Germany is $32,000, which the German government provides for free.
Here in Virginia, VCU students will pay $63,000 in tuition and fees (assuming 2015 rates stay constant, which they won’t), with the result that many will carry tens of thousands of dollars in student debt when they graduate (assuming they do graduate). And they will pay that astronomical fee despite the fact that the Commonwealth of Virginia pays $27,000 per student this year in state support at VCU — only $5,000 per student per year shy of what it costs Germany to educate its students for free!
Marching around the University of Virginia, one can only imagine all the inducements used by the school to bring the best and brightest. Football fields, soccer fields, gymnasiums, pools, dining (well, maybe not that), Greek life… well, maybe not that either.
Needless to say, there’s a reason why universities add in all the superlatives. Is it a race to the bottom? Perhaps… but they aren’t there for mere show, that’s for sure.
Of course, our scaled down Cologne? Look to our marvelous Virginia Community College System. If ever there was a chance for Virginia to focus on the merits of a 21st century STEM-based economy, here it is. Cost effective, no superlatives, and best of all they are ever-so-affordable even for low income families (provided the Stafford Loans continue to cover the expense after the first semester).
Two problems.
First, as with many things, if there is an unlimited ceiling, the bubble will expand until one reaches a point of resistance. Virginia’s four year colleges and universities have yet to find that ceiling… and it remains doubtful that they will.
Second, there remains a social stigma upon graduating high school that one must go to a four-year institution. That one must complete your degree in four years. That one must graduate within that time span. That one must take on the debt because another four years going slow just isn’t what you do. That one must enjoy your collegiate years by avoiding the responsibilities of adult life — paychecks, loans, balancing checkbooks, savings accounts, and the terrible impact of credit card debt, auto loan debt, renting vs. mortgages, etc.
Virginia’s community colleges are a great step in the right direction. Part time, affordable, and scaled down.
