Pittsburgh Post
August 9th, 2015
Many observers would agree that a lot of universities today no longer champion liberal education but are little more than academic corporations that bequeath to their graduates a degree in debt. Such debts often reach six figures and require a lifetime to remit while the lenders receive millions in interest and enrich themselves.
It’s been said that we often accept what we choose to get used to. Sadly, we have chosen to get used to the corporate university with its rising tuition costs, which are passed on in true business fashion to the consumers (students and their parents). How many families can afford tuition, room and board costs that often run $40,000 to $68,000 per year — and continue to rise? Unless we favor education only for the most affluent, the answer is that only few can afford college without extensive borrowing. This cannot go on.
The effect on students is predictable. They are drawn to technological and related programs (job training, actually) that seem to promise sure employment upon graduation so they can repay their loans. (This, by the way, is based on a myth, as the constant change in technologies makes specific preparations soon obsolete). They defer marriage and home purchases.