Do Colleges Need an Improvement?
College is a normal part of a student's development in education, it allows students to learn and excel in the field and career they wish to pursue. Secondary education costs however have been on the rise along with concerns of quality courses and programs. Understanding the importance of college tuition, scholarships programs, beneficial degrees of studies and educator performance are all discussed in articles written by Brent Staples, Kevin Carey, and Sophie Quinton, all of which shine light on the benefits and disadvantages of post secondary education.
The first idea is students and parents should evaluate the importance of a quality degree and program. Obtaining a quality degree is essential in today's …show more content…
Students enrolled and enrolling in programs cannot compete or be assisted at all with the cost of most college. Brent Staples explains students are taking on large sums of debt for programs that are becoming increasingly difficult and lengthy. It is very important for students to be awarded grants and scholarships as “the cost of a first-tier diploma now exceeds $120,000” (Staples 937). Staples believes it is very important for students to manage their finances responsibly, especially when receiving outside funding. Staples statement is similar to Kevin Carey’s argument as he explains in his article Pell Grants. Created by Claiborne Pell, Pell Grants are dedicated to helping low-income students cross into the promised land of opportunity and higher education. However, Carey explains the failure of such grants as he states in “1980, a typical public four-year university cost $2,551 annually. Pell Grants provided $1,750, almost 70 percent of the total. Over the next three decades, annual funding increased from $2 billion to nearly $20 billion. Today Pell Grants cover only 33 percent of the cost”(Carey 1). Carey explains the cost of college tuition has increased so substantially, programs such as Pell Grants cannot offer students the necessary funding to compete with expenses and incurring debt. Lower income students are almost obliged to attend inexpensive, but underrated institutions that will not benefit from a fulfilling degree. Another author who explains her views on college tuition, Sophie Quinton, a fiscal and economic policy analyst for Stateline who previously studied at Yale University. Quinton first explains a vast majority of students who attend college “are taking on debt they cannot repay”(Quinton 1). Quinton goes on to explain “37 percent of students two-year