Should we have free college?” has been a popular topic in America for many years. A plan to make two years of community college tuition free was an important policy goal for former President Barack Obama. It seems to be a great idea to help students who want to go college, but are short of money. In the past, a high school degree was adequate to succeed in the job market, but increasingly a college degree is required. A bachelor degree can help students get better jobs after graduation, free college may not be the answer. Many students do not have the desire to attend college and or the ability to thrive there. In addition, college graduation rates are low which could indicate a waste of time and money but free education may not improve graduation rates. The quality of education would also likely decline as more students enter college because teachers would have more time to spend with students. Finally, free college will lessen the incentive for students to do well in school. For these reasons convinced that college should not be free.
First, not every student has the ability or the financial resources to finish college and not everyone wants to go to college. Although free college may help low-income students enter college, their bigger challenge will be studying and graduating. Matt Bruenig, a writer who researches poverty and welfare systems, in his article The case Against Free College writes ’’The main problem with free college is that most students come from disproportionately well-off background and already enjoy disproportionately well-off futures, which makes them relatively uncoupling targets for public transfers”(113) Many students leave high school without the basic skills necessary to succeed in college. Their reading, writing and math levels are not up to college standards. As we will discuss later in section 3, community colleges will be increasing unable to assist those most in need. This will result in many students struggling and increased drop outs.
In addition, it is difficult for students to obtain college degrees in two to four years. In the modern world, “time is money” meaning some people will opt to go to work rather than stay in school. Tressie McMillan Cottom, an assistant professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University writes: ’’Free college plans are also limited by the reality that not everyone wants to go to college. Some people want to work and do not want to go to college forever and ever – for good reason. While the ’’opportunity cost” of spending four to six years earning a degree instead of working used to be balanced out by the promise of a “good job” after college, this rationale no longer holds, especially for poor students.”(116). College offers students a good environment to learn and study, but some students realize the school is not they want so they choose to dropout to begin working.
Even some students who attend college do not really put in the time necessary to succeed. Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks, two labor economists at the University of California, analyzed how much time college students study from 1920s until present. They found full time students spent twenty-four hours a week studying in 1961. By 1981 it had fallen to twenty hours and was only fourteen hours in 2003. It not likely that majors have become easier, so what are they doing outside campus? From another study of 6,300 undergraduate at University of California found that: ’’students today spend fewer than thirteen hours a week studying, while they spend twelve hours hanging out with friends, fourteen hours consuming entertainment and pursing various hobbies, eleven hours using ’’computers for fun” and six hours exercising ”(172).
127 our experts are availableright now
As shown, not all students have the ability to obtain a degree, college may not be able to assist these students and some students for economic or personal reasons choose not to go to college. Second, free college can’t solve the problem of low graduation rates. A primary goal of getting a bachelor degree is to get a better job. However, if students are unable to complete or dropout of college, free college does not really work. Free college may help poorer students who want to go college but that doesn’t mean they can easily graduate.
Andrew P. Kelly, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, in his article The Cost of ‘Free’ College, argues: ’’Not only will free college fail to solve these problems, it may well create new ones. Providing a free public option might actually diminish some students’ chances of finishing a degree. Tuition caps might result in rationing, not increased enrollment. And imposing new federal rules would sap the system of what little creative energy and innovation do exist ”(2). Because the “Free” college is not really free, the school still need budget for hiring teachers and staffs to make it work. The cost transferring from students to taxpayers. That means government needs to rise more tax from citizens and use for free college. Some people may argue that: “We already pay a lot if tax to this country” or
“I can’t even pay my health insurance, I need to pay more for college that I won’t go? ” Kelly’s argument shows that free college would limit the number of students to go college. State governments and the schools would be challenged to find the resources necessary to make it work. As mores students enter the system, more and more resources will be required. There are limited classroom seats and laboratory equipment. How will these resources be rationed or accurately increased. The same problem will exist finding qualified teachers and of course the money to pay for them.
As I have shown, the idea of free college may be good, but it will not increase graduation rates due to a lack of resources. Students will be forced to battle for space and it will likely take more time to graduate resulting in more dropouts.
Third, free college will decrease the quality of education. As described above, resource limitations will make free college difficult. Not only will it not improve graduation rates, the quality of education will decline. Less qualified instructors will be required to meet the increase in students. These instructors may be assigned more entry level courses where students need the most help doubling the problem. Class sizes will increase resulting in less interaction between instructors and students. In addition, instructors will be unable to effectively review and grade assignments. Finally, the limits on class rooms and equipment must be addressed. Many more schools and classrooms may be needed, but how many and where are they needed. Although we may be able to eventually solve these resource constraints, it would take many years and countless dollars.
Despite these reasons, many people still think that is a good idea to help students to go college. The main reason students give up to college is high tution. Derek Thompson, a senior editor at The Atlantic, in his article The Scariest Student Loan Number, describes a student named Jackie Krowen who thinks her life has been ruined by college because she has more than $150,000 in debt from nursing school. Many students, like Jackie, struggle with high student loan debts resulting in more pressure when they are studying in school.
Students are burdened with tuition and books every semester. Some students need to take part time job after school to pay living and schools expense by themselves. It’s not easy for these students to manage both school and a job. They are unable to devout enough time to study and prepare for exams. In addition, some students spend so much time working they can’t wake on time, may not be able to finish homework or focus in class. All of these things contribute to higher drop out rates.
A government program allowing students to attend college for free or a minimal amount will lessen the pressure on students. More students will be able to attend and succeed in college. This will lead to greater success later in life. Thompson writes, ’’Even after person can make.”(3) Claudia Golden and Lawrence Katz chronicled , both Harvard economists, in their book The Race Between Education and Technology, state “An American with a BA can now expect to earn 83% more than an American with only a high-school diploma. This college-graduate wage premium, as economists call it, is among the highest in the developed world”(150).
As shown, there are strong arguments for and against free college. Thompson, Golden and Katz chronicled provided strong evidence that free college would be beneficial. However, the case against free college is more convincing. As shown earlier not all students want to go to college or would benefit from it. There is little evidence that free college will increase graduation rates as many factors contribute to this situation. Finally, and maybe most important, the resources are not available to ensure students receive a quality education. In fact, it is clear the current system could not handle the additional students. For all of these
reasons, it is clear that free college education is not a good proposal.
