by
Carl Hampton
09/20/2006
How did the United States shift from
being the world leader in higher education
to falling so far behind in enrollment and
completion rates? Budget cuts in our
education system has now forced most public
schools to raise their tuition fees to
compensate for the loss of funds and as a
result, our students just can't afford to go
to college anymore.
A new report shows that the baby boomer
generation has more college degrees than the
present generation of college students.
Unfortunately, we are now watching a
generation of mental capabilities fade away
because they are less educated. This is the
first time in our history that we experience
an educational decline in the younger
generation. It's getting harder to find a
ninth grader that's enrolled in a four-year
university course. The percentage of
transitions from high school to college has
dropped from 45 percent to 37 percent.
The majority of American families are now
living paycheck to paycheck and can no
longer afford a college education for their
children. Pell grants would cover 70 percent
of the total cost of a year at a four year
university back in the 1990's, it has now
dropped to half of that as a percentage.
Patrick M. Callan, president of the National
Center for Public Policy and Higher
Education, says, “we are moving
backwards.” We are witnessing a regression
because tuition is increasing faster than
income, inflation and even health care.
College tuition costs about 31 percent of a
family's income, but those in the bottom 20
percent end up contributing 73 percent of
their total income to pay tuition fees.
So what are our financial priorities? If the
state cannot or will not provide funding for
this and future generations, will the
enrollment rates continue to decline? If we
are not very careful, our college system
will revert back to the “elite
establishment” we all worked so hard to
escape. Our children are our future they
deserve better.
Have an opinion or a question you would like
me to answer, then write me!
http://www.CarlHampton.com
