tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/private-universities-16387/articlesPrivate universities – The Conversation2021-02-11T13:40:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1533982021-02-11T13:40:52Z2021-02-11T13:40:52ZCOVID-19 has dealt a blow to Ethiopia’s private higher education institutions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382248/original/file-20210203-17-1qumuvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A teacher in Ethiopia wears a face mask and stands behind a blue thread-line denoting a boundary between him and the students.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ethiopia’s education sector has seen unprecedented challenges since the onset of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/covid-19">COVID-19 pandemic</a>. Schools and universities were closed for eight months following the confirmation of the <a href="https://idpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40249-020-00753-9">first case</a> on March 13, 2020. This <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ministry-distribute-50-million-facemasks-46000-schools">put nearly</a> 26 million primary and secondary school students, and <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200506081039701">around</a> a million tertiary students, out of learning. </p>
<p>Over the past few months, the effects of the pandemic have been <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200506081039701">pronounced</a> in the private higher education sector whose resource base and capacity is too limited to withstand the impact of a crisis of this magnitude. </p>
<p>Private higher education institutions in Ethiopia draw all their income from student tuition and fees. This heavy reliance has exposed the vulnerability of the sector when the crisis hit and students stopped paying their fees.</p>
<p>I carried out <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2020.1859690">a study</a> which assessed the impact of COVID-19 on Ethiopia’s private higher education sector. The study was conducted through surveys with members of the Ethiopian Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Higher Education Institutions’ Association and institutions themselves.</p>
<p>I found that the loss of income had severely affected the academic and business operations of institutions. Except for a few months of online training, the first eight months during which institutions were closed were characterised by the interruption of classes and payments.</p>
<p>This is a trend that can be seen in other parts of the continent. For instance private universities in Ghana <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200512090947247">face</a> serious cash flow challenges with about 50% of students leaving campus with unpaid fees. And in Uganda, many of the countries’ 45 private universities <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200520125603438">struggled</a> to pay bills, let alone their teaching staff.</p>
<p>To better support private institutions, there must be meaningful assistance by the government and financial institutions. For instance through the provision of tax exemptions, long-term loans, rent waivers or reduction, direct financial support, assistance with online platforms, and reduced internet costs.</p>
<p>I believe that, unless a substantial intervention is made, the sector will be significantly weakened. This could threaten the existence of a sector that supports Ethiopia’s efforts in creating additional access to higher education.</p>
<h2>Income and expenses</h2>
<p>Ethiopia’s private higher education sector is about 20 years old and today accounts for <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2158244015624950">around</a> 17% of national higher education enrolment. Enrolment is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339947266_Inside_the_black_box_of_family-owned_private_institutions">spread over</a> 260 institutions, including five fully-fledged universities. </p>
<p>The landscape is dominated by government-recognised small, for-profit, family-owned institutions. These offer training and award qualifications in technical and vocational, undergraduate and post-graduate programmes to hundred of thousands of students. There are a few non-profits which are generally better resourced, often operated by religious or non-governmental organisations. </p>
<p>My study involved a total of 110 institutions across the whole country. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339947266_Inside_the_black_box_of_family-owned_private_institutions">Nearly half</a> of the private institutions are located in Addis Ababa. </p>
<p>I found that private institutions experienced a significant loss of income due to the closure – for most running TVET and undergraduate programs, class was totally interrupted – between June and October, when face to face classes resumed.</p>
<p>Most (73%) of the institutions I examined collected fees on a monthly basis, the remaining 14% collected their fees on a semester basis. </p>
<p>Many of these institutions have an over-reliance on student fees because they don’t have other income sources. Just 2% of the institutions I examined has alternative sources of income to support their operations.</p>
<p>Due to the closure, the strain of paying monthly rent, staff salaries, and other expenses has been a serious challenge. Under normal circumstances, rent and salaries account for more than 75% of monthly expenses. This is because most institutions don’t own the buildings in which they operate. </p>
<p>As a result, I found that many institutions were forced to make late payments, reduce salaries and enter into litigation due to their failure to meet their obligations. A few institutions were forced to reduce the salary of their employees by between 50% and 65%.</p>
<h2>Impact on employment</h2>
<p>The findings of this study also indicated that many institutions had frozen new employment and stopped employing part-time workers who constitute a significant portion (55%) of the workforce in the private higher education sector. The sector <a href="https://doi.org/10.6017/ijahe.v4i2.10295">often employs</a> part-timers due to the lack of qualified staff and the cost of having permanent employees. </p>
<p>Another impact of the pandemic on employment was related to the productivity of workers compared to the earlier days. Institutions claimed that the output of their employees was significantly reduced after classes were disrupted. This was mainly due to the interruption of face to face classes and the challenges that needed time for readjustment. </p>
<h2>Impact on leadership</h2>
<p>My study also revealed the huge burden that leadership within higher education institutions have carried. The suddenness of the pandemic and their poor preparation meant many struggled with their usual role of managing institutional plans and attending to the day to day challenges they face – for instance, not losing experienced staff that weren’t being paid. The declining work ethic among academics and staff, failure to provide accurate information to their community, and fear of the unknown as regards the fate of their institutions have been serious burdens to most institutional leaders.</p>
<p>Many had a feeling of hopelessness. There was limited help from the government and other sources which they think should have bailed them out. But the limited government assistance to the private sector <a href="http://www.investethiopia.gov.et/index.php/covid-19/latest-government-measures-support.html">went mostly</a> to other industries including manufacturing, hospitality, horticulture, and floriculture.</p>
<p>While the reopening of schools and universities has provided some hope, the damage the pandemic has caused so far has been great and long-term impacts are still unclear.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153398/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wondwosen Tamrat is the Founder and President of St Mary's University - a private institution.</span></em></p>Private higher education institutions in Ethiopia draw all their income from student tuition. This exposed the vulnerability of the sector when the crisis hit and students stopped paying their fees.Wondwosen Tamrat, Associate Professor, St. Mary’s UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1439192020-08-25T14:31:39Z2020-08-25T14:31:39ZNigerian university students find online learning painful: here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353862/original/file-20200820-18-rr2gen.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigerian university students. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Frédéric Soltan/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In response to the <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200320124504312">compulsory closure </a> of institutions of learning as part of measures aimed at curbing the spread of<a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/nigeria/"> COVID-19 in Nigeria</a>, efforts were made to keep students busy with academic activities during the lockdown. </p>
<p>Thus, schools, especially privately owned universities, engaged students in different kinds of online learning approaches. This was limited to private schools because the government owned universities were on strike. </p>
<p>To fully understand how students feel about online learning during COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://www.ppacjournals.org/get.php?filename=ISRAELVOL6.2020PP1-11.pdf">our study</a> investigated the views of students of <a href="https://aul.edu.ng/">Anchor University</a>, a private higher education institution owned by the Deeper Christian Life Ministry in Lagos, Nigeria.</p>
<p>We found that <a href="https://aul.edu.ng/">Anchor University</a> was one of the private tertiary institutions in Nigeria that took the initiative to respond to the challenge. </p>
<p>Lecturers went the extra mile to ensure that students had meaningful learning experiences. They engaged students with materials varying from text notes and voice notes, to animated videos. They also used different online tools and platforms like Google classroom, Google meet, WhatsApp, and YouTube. </p>
<p>So how did the students feel about this? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ppacjournals.org/get.php?filename=ISRAELVOL6.2020PP1-11.pdf">Our findings</a> showed that the students had negative dispositions towards online schooling. Some of these views were tied to their home front situations. The challenges they mentioned included higher data consumption, distractions from the neighborhood, friends and relatives, erratic power supply and internet network fluctuations.</p>
<p>Most of the issues they complained about would have been taken care of in the school environment of Anchor University if the students were physically in school.</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>To arrive at <a href="https://www.ppacjournals.org/get.php?filename=ISRAELVOL6.2020PP1-11.pdf">our findings</a>, we collected data from 104 students out of about 500 students. Participants were drawn from the sciences, arts and the social sciences disciplines. </p>
<p>The participants, whose age ranges between 17 and 22 were drawn from classes between 100 and 400 levels. They all responded to an online questionnaire regarding their disposition to online teaching and learning at the early part of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. </p>
<p>The results showed that students were not in favour of online teaching and learning. They had a preference for face-to-face learning and wished the practice would not be retained, post COVID-19.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ppacjournals.org/get.php?filename=ISRAELVOL6.2020PP1-11.pdf">Over 60%</a> of the participants did not find it fun learning through uploaded videos and other online learning channels. For example, majority of the students say they concentrate more with a teacher in the class than when watching a video online. </p>
<p>Some students said they are not learning more content from online teaching than they would have in a face-to-face approach. Others said they would rather all the online lectures be repeated in the classroom after the lockdown. </p>
<p>Our findings surprised us. </p>
<p>The assumption has always been that students would readily welcome online learning given that they enjoy watching films on television and are familiar with modern technologies including laptop computers and mobile hand-held devices like smart phones and iPads. </p>
<p>Our findings contradict research done elsewhere on online learning. One example is a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280048690_Attitude_of_Students_Towards_E-learning_in_South-West_Nigerian_Universities_An_Application_of_Technology_Acceptance_Model">report</a> done six years ago that assessed the attitude of students towards e-learning in South west Nigerian universities. </p>
<p>Also, our findings are not in tandem with a <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e5be/4cf1e0d292d14920d852093e951bdc3785be.pdf">research report</a> done 4 years ago analysing students’ attitude towards e-learning at Babcock University, Nigeria. The report showed that students have positive attitude to online learning.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.readkong.com/page/assessing-the-impact-of-educational-video-on-student-5574297">report</a> done 2 years ago among Purdue University students, US, found that video provides great benefits to teachers and learners, stimulating stronger course performance in many contexts, and affecting student motivation, confidence and attitudes positively.</p>
<p>The contradictions could be traced to the fact that students did not really expect the sudden shift to complete online mode of learning.</p>
<h2>Recommendations</h2>
<p>Based on the <a href="https://www.ppacjournals.org/get.php?filename=ISRAELVOL6.2020PP1-11.pdf">findings</a>, we made a number of recommendations that tertiary institutions could follow should they continue learning and teaching via online channels and platforms:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>They should provide adequate training for lecturers to acquire requisite skills to effectively facilitate online delivery of learning content.</p></li>
<li><p>They should provide adequate orientation, motivation and training for students to acquire relevant skills to maximally benefit from online teaching and learning. They should be exposed to modern information technology applications to support their learning.</p></li>
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<p>We also made some <a href="https://www.ppacjournals.org/get.php?filename=ISRAELVOL6.2020PP1-11.pdf">recommendations for parents</a>. They should try to provide an enabling environment for students at home. They should try as much as possible to provide support ranging from making available the necessary electronic gadgets (such as laptops and android phones), access to electricity power supply (generating sets and solar panels) and sufficient data for strong and consistent internet connection.</p>
<p>Parents should also provide an emotionally enabling environment so that students can benefit from the face-to-screen online teaching and learning. These would help the students to benefit maximally from online schooling.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143919/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Israel Olasunkanmi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The assumption has always been that students would enjoy online learning but our research, during COVID-19 lock down, found otherwise.Israel Olasunkanmi, Lecturer, University of Ibadan, University of IbadanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1280912019-12-10T01:40:41Z2019-12-10T01:40:41ZWhy the profit motive fails in education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305579/original/file-20191206-183360-1o6rl16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C428%2C5499%2C3688&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The disastrous experience of vocational education and training in Australia holds many lessons about trying to fit education into a for-profit market model.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Morrison government’s waiving of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/morrison-government-wipes-500-million-in-dodgy-debt-from-students-20191130-p53fnk.html">almost A$500 million</a> in dodgy vocational education and training debts holds many lessons about the nature of education and public services being provided by for-profit enterprises.</p>
<p>The debts were collected by about 38,000 students unwittingly locked into federal VET FEE-HELP loans by dodgy for-profit education providers. Thousands more complaints seeking to have debts waived <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/morrison-government-wipes-500-million-in-dodgy-debt-from-students-20191130-p53fnk.html">have yet to be processed</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-national-set-of-priorities-for-vet-would-make-great-social-and-economic-sense-101516">A new national set of priorities for VET would make great social and economic sense</a>
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<p>One of the lessons from the disastrous mix of public funding and private profits in the VET sector is that policymakers infatuated with the dogma of “reform” are incapable of learning from experience. </p>
<p>That’s true of both sides of politics.</p>
<h2>Victorian reforms</h2>
<p>A brief history of the “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/morrison-government-wipes-500-million-in-dodgy-debt-from-students-20191130-p53fnk.html">most disastrous education rort in Australia’s history</a>” illustrates the point. </p>
<p>The story begins in about 2008.</p>
<p>Historically, vocational education and training was the domain of the government-run Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges. To create an expanded demand-driven sector, the Labor government of John Brumby in Victoria made two key “reforms”.</p>
<p>One was to open up the TAFE system to private-sector competition. The other was to shift costs <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/tafe-shakeup-shifts-cost-burden-to-students-20080826-430t.html">to students</a>, through a fee loans scheme similar to the one federal Labor introduced to fund university education expansion.</p>
<p>These reforms were embraced by Brumby’s Liberal successor, Ted Baillieu, who <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/deeper-tafe-cuts-revealed-in-secret-documents-20120913-25v7o.html">severely cut TAFE funding</a>, and by both Liberal and Labor federal governments.</p>
<h2>How not to reform</h2>
<p>But what Victoria provided, in the words of education policy researcher Leesa Wheelahan, was “a great template in <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorian-tafe-chaos-a-lesson-in-how-not-to-reform-vocational-education-7296">how not to reform vocational training</a>”. </p>
<p>As Wheelahan noted in 2012, problems emerged almost immediately. For-profit providers enticed students (and therefore the money flowing from the government) with sweeteners such as “free” iPads. Diplomas requiring 600 hours of work were granted on the basis of 60 hours. And so on.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorian-tafe-chaos-a-lesson-in-how-not-to-reform-vocational-education-7296">Victorian TAFE chaos: a lesson in how not to reform vocational education</a>
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<p>In <a href="https://www.ncver.edu.au/__data/assets/file/0020/9920/structures-in-tertiary-education-2616.pdf">an essay</a> published in 2013, I wrote: “Attempts by for-profit firms to enter (what they perceive as) education markets have almost invariably ended either in failure or in fraudulent exploitation of public subsidies.”</p>
<p>But the Victorian template was embraced federally first by the government <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1617a/17bd041">of John Howard</a>, which extended the Higher Education Loan Program to VET, and then those of <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/administration-vet-fee-help-scheme">Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard</a>. </p>
<p>It grew even more under Tony Abbott, increasing at triple-digit rates <a href="https://ministers.education.gov.au/birmingham/press-conference-vet-fee-help">between 2012 and 2015</a>, until evident problems forced government action. The Australian National Audit Office’s <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/administration-vet-fee-help-scheme">scathing assessment</a> of the scheme in 2016 led to it <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-02/parliament-passes-bill-to-scrap-troubled-vet-loans/8085860">being scrapped</a>.</p>
<h2>Examples of failure</h2>
<p>Policymakers could have learned not only from the initial failures of VET reform but from examples of for-profit education at all levels. </p>
<p>Australian universities have dabbled unsuccessfully with the for-profit tertiary model exemplified by the University of Phoenix. It and other for-profit universities have been accused of rorting federal education funding provided for military veterans, by spending <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1USxgmt2o5tI3hZ5WOVaRnvzJTEDRKWfo/view">15% or less of the fees received on instruction</a>.</p>
<p>It’s perhaps a good thing that Australian universities rooted in the traditions of public education have routinely failed with for-profit ventures such as as Melbourne University Private. It closed in 2005 after losing an estimated <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1386873.htm">A$20 million</a> over the previous seven years.</p>
<p>At the level of school education, the US has plenty of failed experiments. One is <a href="https://www.hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-75-issue-4/herbooknote/the-edison-schools_3">Edison Schools</a>, which at its peak in the early 2000s had hundreds of school contracts. It has since lost the great majority due to not <a href="https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/education-commercial-mindset-samuel-abrams-review">delivering on promises</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-we-want-for-profit-schools-in-australia-7015">Do we want for-profit schools in Australia?</a>
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<p>In the realm of early child education, Australia’s for-profit child-care operators funded by government subsidies have a similarly problematic record.
The similarities include using the types of lures pioneered by shonky operators in the VET sector – enticing parents (and their federal subsidies) with offers of “free” <a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/education/early-years/childcare-centres-offer-giveaways-as-fees-soar/news-story/40c5b738b095cc1163e2db1665acf85a">iPads and gift cards</a>. </p>
<h2>The limits of market liberalism</h2>
<p>The failures of for-profit education reflect both the specific characteristics of education that make a market model inappropriate and more fundamental failings of market liberalism. </p>
<p>Students, by definition, don’t know enough to be informed consumers. Whether the course is good or bad, they are unlikely to be repeat customers. In these circumstances, relying on consumer choice and competition between providers is a recipe for superficial, low-quality courses and exploitation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-are-changing-and-fast-heres-what-the-vet-sector-and-employers-need-to-do-to-keep-up-118524">Jobs are changing, and fast. Here's what the VET sector (and employers) need to do to keep up</a>
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<p>As centuries of experience has shown, only the dedication and professional ethos of teachers can ensure high-quality education. Reliance on incentives and markets is inconsistent with that ethos.</p>
<p>The broader problem with the reform agenda is that for-profit businesses paid to provide public services are more tempted to make profits by exploiting loopholes in the funding system than by innovating or providing better services. </p>
<p>This point is apparently yet to sink in with agencies such as the Productivity Commission, which remains enthusiastic about applying “<a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/human-services/reforms/report">increased competition, contestability and informed user choice</a>” to human services “to improve outcomes for users, and the community as a whole”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article draws on work undertaken with funding from the National Council for Vocational Education and Research in 2012. The opinions presented do not reflect the views of NCVER.</span></em></p>Market forces don’t work well in education. For-profit businesses are more tempted to exploit loopholes than provide quality service.John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1207222019-08-16T12:53:13Z2019-08-16T12:53:13ZFree college proposals should include private colleges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288077/original/file-20190814-136180-1ihzx3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Private college students graduate at higher rates, government statistics show.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multiracial-students-walking-university-hall-during-685407808?src=7JOvhcaapQ_gLo_vpODSlg-1-0">4 PM production/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Students can use federal financial aid to attend any college they want, whether public or private. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/high_school_and_beyond/2019/05/4_things_you_need_to_know_about_free_college_proposals.html">“free college” proposals</a> floated by some 2020 presidential candidates would increase federal funding only for community colleges or state-run universities. Private nonprofit universities would be excluded.</p>
<p>The question is: Why? </p>
<p>From my vantage point as scholar of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=m2X4SScAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">economics of higher education</a>, I see a few factors at play.</p>
<h2>A question of resources</h2>
<p>One is cost. It would be easier to fulfill campaign promises to make higher education “free” by covering only public institutions, which tend to charge lower tuition and to spend less educating each of their students. </p>
<p>But cost and quality tend to go together, and this relationship holds true for higher education.</p>
<p>One way to measure quality is whether students complete their studies as planned. <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_326.10.asp?referer=raceindicators">Four-year completion rates</a> at public institutions trail those at private non-profits by as much as 20% for students of the same race and sex. </p>
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<p>Colleges and universities with more funding and higher tuition – typically private institutions – not only graduate students faster, but their graduates go on to earn <a href="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/dalekrueger_More_Selective_College.pdf">higher salaries</a> than their peers who graduate from less well-funded colleges, after accounting for differences in student characteristics and selectivity. Several <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/146304">studies</a> have come to <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3804/aff8877f9cc4c3082c855ca4e92e2645a915.pdf">similar conclusions</a>: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/505067">Educational resources affect earnings</a>.</p>
<p>Since students at public colleges graduate at lower rates and earn lower salaries, they tend to default on their student loans <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/defaultmanagement/schooltyperates.pdf">more often</a> than those who went to private nonprofit colleges. By making federal money available to both public and private colleges, it could lead to fewer students defaulting.</p>
<h2>Quality and spending</h2>
<p>Ideally, federal funds provided by “free college” initiatives would boost quality at colleges and universities. But covering tuition at only public institutions won’t increase the quality of education at these schools unless it means the schools have more money to spend.</p>
<p>Poorer outcomes at public institutions can be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11162-005-9388-y">explained</a> by lower spending. For example, during the 2015-2016 school year, four-year <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_334.10.asp">public institutions</a> spent about US$12,000 less than four-year <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_334.30.asp">private nonprofits</a> per student per year. Two-year public colleges invest dramatically less.</p>
<p>But the resource problems at colleges won’t get better if federal money merely pays the same tuition that students are paying now. Many state governments <a href="https://www.mhec.org/sites/default/files/resources/mhec_affordability_series3_20170824.pdf">prohibit</a> state colleges and universities from increasing tuition, even as states have <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_333.10.asp">cut the amount of money they spend per student</a>. Tuition caps would prevent public colleges from obtaining the additional resources they need to improve quality.</p>
<p>These price ceilings worsen problems such as <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/student-staff-ratio-in-postsecondary-institutions-over-time">high student-to-faculty ratios</a>, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/faculty-pay-survey_n_3038924">low instructor pay</a> and <a href="https://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/rb/RB_512HJRB.pdf">restricted course offerings</a>. They also mean schools must <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:vDBYPxvidhUJ:https://www.chronicle.com/article/More-Public-Universities-Cap/142873+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">turn away qualified students</a> and allow facilities and equipment to fall into <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:0Dasw2dBjOIJ:https://www.chronicle.com/article/No-One-Likes-to-Talk-About/242046+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">disrepair</a>.</p>
<p>Without tuition caps, price would still be limited by market competition. Private nonprofits compete with each other for students and offer education across a range of prices and quality levels.</p>
<p>Some free college proposals call for tying federal funding to <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2598/text">state matching funds</a>. One prominent example is the Debt-Free College Act of 2018, which is cosponsored by <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2598/cosponsors">several presidential candidates</a> – Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten E. Gillibrand. But demanding more state funding could backfire. Some state governments might turn down federal funding for higher education if it <a href="https://www.apnews.com/8fbf0ba4b11a4c45b1344bdbbe3c94d9">requires states to spend more</a>. The same thing happened when many states turned down <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions-interactive-map/">Medicaid expansion</a>.</p>
<p>Many students won’t attend college unless it is close to home, or is in a city where they hope to settle. Restricting these students to public institutions would limit their choice of academic programs and quality. For example, in <a href="http://bit.ly/2ixsOky">some parts of the country</a>, only private institutions offer programs like business economics or electromechanical engineering. Including private institutions would mean a wider range of choices.</p>
<h2>How it could work</h2>
<p>What could a federal subsidy look like that would empower students to choose the college they believe is best for them?</p>
<p>One option would be a voucher that would fund costs at a school of the student’s choice. For instance, a voucher could cover between 30% and 80% of tuition, fees, books and reasonable living expenses at any accredited public or nonprofit college or university.</p>
<p>Investing more public dollars in higher education boosts income and employment, which leads to <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2551567">more tax revenue</a>, which benefits the general public. </p>
<p>Some candidates have called for <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/23/18714615/bernie-sanders-free-college-for-all-2020-student-loan-debt">“means-testing”</a> public funding for higher education. Means-tested funds are only made available to those who can prove they fall below a certain income or wealth threshold.</p>
<p>But public investments in education do not have to be limited to the poor to help the poor. Programs that only benefit the poor are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mimi_Abramovitz/publication/11669976_Everyone_Is_Still_on_Welfare_The_Role_of_Redistribution_in_Social_Policy/links/00b7d5145ca8e2220c000000.pdf">more prone to budget cuts</a> than more universal programs. </p>
<p>Including private nonprofit institutions in affordability programs – or “free college” proposals – will benefit middle-income and poor students. Many private nonprofit institutions <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w18586">seek to include and assist</a> qualified students from less privileged backgrounds. Indeed, some of the most selective institutions – and typically the best funded – have been among <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43821938">the most generous</a> with respect to assisting students with financial need. With more government support, private institutions could more easily educate more of these students.</p>
<p>Some might argue that making education funding available to private institutions would divert funding from public universities. But respecting student choice might make these programs more popular and build broader political support for increased funding for higher education.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120722/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Simkovic is a Professor of Law and Accounting at the University of Southern California.</span></em></p>The ‘free college’ proposals being floated by 2020 presidential candidates don’t include private colleges. A higher education scholar asks why, especially since privates have higher graduation rates.Michael Simkovic, Professor of Law and Accounting, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1142402019-04-23T11:41:32Z2019-04-23T11:41:32ZNigerian universities are suffering from neglect. Why this should stop<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269622/original/file-20190416-147508-yot3ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigeria's education system is under funded.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The level of funding of the education sector has been <a href="https://thepointernewsonline.com/?p=40771">recognised</a> as one of the major factors that contribute to quality education. This, in turn, determines growth and development of a country. It’s also been <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/">acknowledged</a> that quality education determines the success in achieving the sustainable development goals. </p>
<p>As Irina Bokova, the former Director General, UNESCO, <a href="http://www.aitonline.tv/post-UNESCO_demands_improvement_on_budgetary_allocation_for_education">said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Quality education, inclusive education, has to be among those for the post-2015 agenda because if we don’t put it with all the responsibility that is entrusted upon us we would not live up, in my view, to the expectations of the global community.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the last 40 years government funding in the education sector in Nigeria has varied between <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/04/09/funding-of-education-in-Nigeria-below-UNESCO-recommended-benchmark-says-ministry/">6% and 9%</a> of the national budget. This is <a href="https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/11/19/budgetary-allocation-to-education-nigeria-ranks-20th-in-the-world/">lower</a> than most other African countries which range between 11% and 30%.</p>
<p>This meagre allocation is also expected to fund the country’s higher education system. </p>
<p>At independence about 60 years ago Nigeria had only two tertiary institutions. These were Yaba Higher College (founded in 1934), now Yaba College of Technology and the University of Ibadan,Ibadan was initially a College of the University of London, founded in 1948. </p>
<p>After independence in 1960, all Nigeria’s states were determined to make education accessible at all levels. This, plus <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/nigeria-population/">population growth</a> led to a significant increase in the number of tertiary institutions. </p>
<p>By 2018, Nigeria had 160 <a href="https://campusbiz.com.ng/list-of-universities-in-nigeria/">approved universities</a>. These included 43 federal universities, 48 state universities and 79 private universities. In addition, there were 113 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_polytechnics_in_Nigeria">polytechnics</a> and 47 <a href="http://www.nbte.gov.ng/monotechnics.html">monotechnics</a> ,<a href="https://nigerianfinder.com/schools-of-health-in-Nigeria/">71</a> colleges of health technology, 153 <a href="https://net.nbte.gov.ng/IEIs">innovation enterprise institutions</a>, most of which are privately owned and 132 <a href="https://www.theinfostride.com/forum/index.php?topic=38258.0">technical colleges</a>. There were 82 <a href="https://wikivisually.com/wiki/List_of_colleges_of_education_in_Nigeria">colleges of education</a>,consisting of 22 federal, 46 under the state’s care and 14 privately owned.</p>
<p>It’s clear that the budget allocation can’t do justice to the needs of these institutions. If Nigeria is going to join the league of industrialised countries it needs to fund its education sector adequately. Most importantly, it needs to invest in solid infrastructure for teaching, research and national development. </p>
<h2>Funding</h2>
<p>The main source of funding for Nigerian tertiary institutions has been annual budgetary allocations from the state and federal governments. To complement these allocations, the federal government established an education trust fund in 1993. This agency has been supporting government tertiary institutions under the <a href="http://www.tetfund.gov.ng/index.php/2-uncategorised/2-tetfund-act">Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act</a>. This imposes a 2% education tax on the profits of Nigeria’s registered companies.</p>
<p>The fund has played a significant role in promoting quality and education standards in Nigerian tertiary institutions. These funds have been used for:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>construction and rehabilitation of buildings and laboratories, </p></li>
<li><p>procurement of teaching and research equipment, academic staff training and research development, </p></li>
<li><p>Capacity building and teacher training,</p></li>
<li><p>information and communication technology, and</p></li>
<li><p>infrastructure, including boreholes and electric power generators. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Fees and levies are another source of income. For government-owned institutions, the <a href="http://www.pulse.ng/communities/student/free-education-if-you're-a-federal-university-student-tuition-fee-is%20now-illegal-in/1y15gsz.amp#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s">directive</a> is not to charge tuition fees but to impose levies. The levies are approved by each governing council. This means that they vary from institution. </p>
<p>Private institutions <a href="https://nigerianprice.com/school-fees-of-private-universities-in-Nigeria/">rely substantially</a> on tuition fees and other levies. These also vary from institution to institution. They are also substantially higher than those charged in public institutions.</p>
<p>Another source of revenue is internally generated income. Institutions are expected to generate additional income from grants, donations and other fund raising initiatives. But this has proved to be an <a href="http://www.abuad.edu.ng/funding-of-universities-in-nigeria-attitude-of-nigerians-to-giving">uphill battle</a>. Nigeria has a poor culture of donations because of the belief that the government is responsible for providing free education at all levels.</p>
<h2>Fixing the problem</h2>
<p>The first major step to fixing Nigeria’s tertiary education problems would be to <a href="https://www.legit.ng/1218432-asuu-insists-15-allocation-education-sector-strike.html">increase</a> budgetary allocations to between 11% and 15%. </p>
<p>I don’t believe that raising fees is a sensible road to take. Instead, the government should reintroduce scholarships, bursaries, grants and loan schemes, as was the case before the oil boom. </p>
<p>Another shortfall in Nigeria’s higher education sector is a lack of research grants. The public and private sectors have to create an enabling environment and work together with the higher education sector to achieve the country’s development goals. This is the path taken by developed countries. </p>
<p>Another major hurdle that will need to be cleared is relations with labour unions, in particular the Academic Staff Union of Universities.</p>
<h2>The role of private institutions</h2>
<p>I also believe that private higher education institutions have a significant role to play in the delivery of quality education and national economic development. They have to be supported. While I was the chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of Private Universities in Nigeria between 2014 to 2016, the committee proposed that private universities should also benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. </p>
<p>This money would be used for staff development and research. Loans, at single digit interest rates, could be provided for infrastructural development. </p>
<p>These recommendations were based on the believe that these institutions have the capacity to increase enrolment and cater for an increasing number of people seeking admission. This would also mean that thousands of students would no longer have to leave the country to pursue their studies elsewhere.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the law that lead to the establishment of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund doesn’t accommodate private institutions. This needs to be amended. </p>
<h2>In conclusion</h2>
<p>It is apparent that Nigeria has failed to deliver quality education due to poor funding of the education sector and rising costs of education, among other factors. </p>
<p>There must be a methodical approach to improving education funding for Nigeria to achieve the sustainable development goals. The funds must be used appropriately and there must be accountability across the board.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114240/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Government funding in Nigeria’s education sector has been chronically low and needs to be changed.Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi, Professor, Nigerian Academy of ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/869122017-11-08T11:16:25Z2017-11-08T11:16:25ZGOP plan to tax college endowments like Yale’s and Harvard’s would be neither fair nor effective<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193647/original/file-20171107-6766-1k9z6zs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Harvard, located along the Charles River in Cambridge, boasts the largest endowment at $37.6 billion.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jorge Salcedo/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tucked away in the recently <a href="https://waysandmeansforms.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bill_text.pdf">announced GOP tax bill</a> is a small item you may have missed: a new tax on university endowments. As I have spent decades working in higher education, the proposal immediately piqued my interest.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/universityendowment.asp">Colleges create endowments</a> by raising funds from alumni, companies and other donors, invest the money in stocks, bonds and other assets, and use the returns to fund student aid programs, professors’ salaries and any other expenses needed to run a college. Republicans want to slap a 1.4 percent tax on certain endowments’ investment income, also known as their returns.</p>
<p>Some college leaders are already <a href="http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Statement-by-ACE-President-Ted-Mitchell-on-the-House-Tax-Reform-Proposal.aspx">howling</a> at the proposal – and at <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/04/opinions/tax-plan-student-loans-dancy-opinion/index.html">several others</a> in the tax bill targeting higher education – arguing it would threaten their autonomy and reduce support for poorer students. </p>
<p>Since tax revenue to run the government has to come from somewhere, I believe colleges and universities are fair game. To me, the questions that matter are simple: Is the tax itself fair? And would it be effective?</p>
<h2>Endowments swell in size</h2>
<p>Republicans have <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-18/universities-seek-to-defend-endowments-from-republican-tax-plan">expressed concern about the tax-exempt status</a> of college endowments for several years, arguing the largest ones aren’t spending enough on tuition assistance and questioning how the funds are managed. </p>
<p>Such endowments have grown dramatically recently, presenting a juicy target for GOP lawmakers looking for revenue to offset <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/us/politics/tax-plan-republicans.html?_r=0">nearly $1.5 trillion</a> in tax cuts for companies and individuals. </p>
<p>Post-secondary institutions <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_333.90.asp">reported a total of $547 billion</a> in endowment assets as of 2016, up 54 percent from five years earlier, shortly after they got whacked by the financial crisis. And in the preceding academic year, from 2014 to 2015, schools earned a total of $26 billion off their endowment assets.</p>
<p></p><hr><p></p>
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<p></p><hr><p></p>
<p>Currently, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_333.90.asp">Harvard University boasts the largest</a> endowment, at $37.6 billion – more than neighboring state <a href="https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/qgsp_newsrelease.htm">Vermont’s entire annual GDP</a>.</p>
<p>Harvard, however, is not alone in having a hefty endowment. Fellow private universities Yale, Stanford and Princeton all have <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_333.90.asp">more than $20 billion each</a>, as does the public University of Texas. The 10 biggest endowments combined were worth more than $183 billion in 2016, about a third of the total. </p>
<p></p><hr><p></p>
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<p></p><hr><p></p>
<h2>How the tax would work</h2>
<p>Republicans aren’t targeting all schools with an endowment, however, or even only large ones. </p>
<p>Their plan has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/03/tax-reform-hits-college-endowments-and-maybe-tuition-and-scholarships.html">three criteria</a>: To be taxed, a school must be private, enroll at least 500 students and have an endowment that amounts to at least $250,000 per student – up from an earlier proposal of $100,000. This means all public colleges are exempt, as are private schools with an endowment smaller than $125 million or a disproportionately large or small student body.</p>
<p>One other requirement is that an endowment must actually earn a return on its investments to be taxed. Many do not in any given year.</p>
<p>Some of the largest endowments generate quite a bit of money. During the 2014 to 2015 academic year, Yale earned the most of any university, returning $2.55 billion – or more than $200,000 for every one of its 12,385 students. Princeton came second at $2.51 billion, while Harvard’s endowment returned $2.23 billion. </p>
<p></p><hr><p></p>
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<p></p><hr><p></p>
<h2>How much it would raise</h2>
<p>The earlier proposal, which was detailed only last week, would have affected about 150 of the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Home/AboutIPEDS">3,922 colleges that have an endowment</a>, yielding what I estimated would have amounted to just under $270 million based on the 2014-15 academic year. Republicans said the tax would reap $3 billion over a decade. </p>
<p>The latest version, with the much higher threshold, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/11/07/house-gop-trims-total-of-colleges-targeted-for-new-endowment-tax/?utm_term=.e6373aff8e0a">would affect fewer than half that</a>, or roughly 60 to 70 schools. That would probably not lower the amount raised that much since only a handful of primarily elite schools will pay almost all of the tax. </p>
<p>Most colleges, on the other hand, would not pay very much. For example, Carleton College in Minnesota, which ranks in the middle of the tax list, would owe about $250,000. Some colleges, such as Emory in Atlanta, whose endowment lost almost $160 million in the period, most likely would receive a tax credit, useful for deferring this tax in the future.</p>
<h2>Is the tax fair?</h2>
<p>Fair <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">tax systems</a> do not punish select groups. The bill as currently written fails this criterion. </p>
<p>The bill primarily punishes the Ivy League and a small number of other elite private universities like Stanford, MIT, Notre Dame and Duke. These four schools, along with seven of the eight Ivy League colleges, would have paid about $200 million of the total tax, according to my calculations. </p>
<p>While lawmakers have expressed concern over large endowments, the tax does not punish universities just for amassing a huge amount of money. I work for <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a>, which has a $3.6 billion endowment, but it is exempt since it’s a public college. </p>
<p>Regional rival the University of Michigan, with an endowment of almost $10 billion, is similarly exempt, as is the University of Texas system, which has the third-largest endowment, at $22.5 billion. </p>
<p>The tax is also unfair even among private universities, since those with large endowments but very small or large student bodies would not be taxed. </p>
<p>For example, Rockefeller University in New York City has a $2 billion endowment, which returned $111 million in 2014-2015. But it does not have enough students to be taxed under the present plan. On the other end, Brigham Young University in Utah has a $1.58 billion endowment and earned $202 million in investment income during that period, yet its large student body means it wouldn’t pay a tax either. </p>
<p>If the goal is to raise revenue from colleges that collect large amounts of tax-free donations, limiting the tax to just a few private institutions is simply punitive.</p>
<h2>Who’s a student?</h2>
<p>Another problem is that the proposal uses the number of students to determine whether to apply the tax.</p>
<p>The bill states the count of students “shall be based on the daily average number of full-time students attending such intuitions (with part-time students taken into account on a full-time student equivalent basis).”</p>
<p>I believe this would allow schools to find creative ways to avoid paying the tax, just as <a href="https://itep.org/3-percent-and-dropping-state-corporate-tax-avoidance-in-the-fortune-500-2008-to-2015/">Fortune 500 companies do</a>. The student body figures reported to the Department of Education count part-time students the same as those matriculating full-time. So schools would have to compute a new number based on the “full-time equivalent” calculation, which creates ample room for creative accounting. </p>
<p>For example, many schools provide executive education and extension programs for individuals who are generally not considered students. But you can expect many schools to turn them into students, and the same goes for people enrolled in <a href="https://library.educause.edu/topics/teaching-and-learning/massive-open-online-course-mooc">massive open online courses</a>, or MOOCs. Given that <a href="https://www.onlinestudies.com/news/How-Many-Students-Enrolled-in-MOOCs-in-2016/-1390/">58 million people signed up for MOOCs</a> in 2016, this would not be a particularly high hurdle.</p>
<p>An effective tax is one that is not easy to evade. The proposed bill is not very effective because it is easy to evade.</p>
<h2>A fairer approach</h2>
<p>Republicans presented their plan as a method of <a href="https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/11/02/trump-republican-tax-plan-not-simple-000569">simplifying the tax code</a>. The tax on private colleges’ investment income does not accomplish this but rather makes things even more complicated.</p>
<p>If endowment earnings are going to be taxed, a fair approach would be to keep things simple. Just institute a tax on endowment income from all colleges and universities, regardless of number of students or whether it’s public or private. This would have raised about $359 billion – not a lot more, but it would do it a lot more simply, fairly and effectively.</p>
<p>In general, I am not against taxing university endowments or investments. However, if we are going to do it, the tax needs to be fair and not have giant loopholes. The current bill is a punitive mess that is extremely suspect in its long-term ability to raise money.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Colleges and universities boast US$547 billion in endowment assets, yet only a handful of elite schools would be taxed under the proposal.Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/709002017-01-12T02:11:18Z2017-01-12T02:11:18ZFree college explained in a global context<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152430/original/image-20170111-4591-1ckw9ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced a proposal for free tuition at state colleges.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Mary Altaffer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New York Governor <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/nyregion/free-tuition-new-york-colleges-plan.html?_r=0">Andrew M. Cuomo recently pledged</a> to make undergraduate education at the the City University of New York (CUNY) and the State University of New York (SUNY) system free for families making less than US$120,000 annually. </p>
<p>If this happens, it wouldn’t be the first time that undergraduate education has been free in New York. For most of its history, up until the 1970s when New York City was in dire financial straits and the state had to step in to bail out the City University of New York, <a href="http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/6444-could-cuny-be-tuition-free-again">CUNY was free</a> to many of the city’s residents. </p>
<p>And this is not just the case in New York. College has been tuition-free in other states as well. In 2014, Tennessee governor Bill Haslam promised <a href="http://tnpromise.gov/">to provide free community college</a> to all residents in his state. He has delivered on the promise, making Tennessee a model state in this area. </p>
<p>In a country where student debt and the rising cost of the college degree grab national headlines on a weekly basis, efforts to make college “free” can also get attention. In truth, however, a large part of tuition costs are already subsidized in the U.S. through a combination of grants, tax breaks and loans. What causes waves is the ever-increasing sticker price, rather than what students actually pay. </p>
<p>My interest, as a scholar of global education policy, is understanding how college costs in the U.S. compare to those of the rest of the world. The fact is that nowhere is college truly free. The critical difference is whether the bulk of the costs are born by the student or by the government.</p>
<p>So, what are some of the changes taking place globally as countries try to manage college costs? </p>
<h2>Who pays?</h2>
<p>Some countries follow a model similar to the U.S. by charging high tuition rates but then defraying the costs for certain students with grants, loans or tax incentives. </p>
<p>As to which country charges students the most, that depends on how one does the calculations. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152431/original/image-20170111-4591-1lkg862.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152431/original/image-20170111-4591-1lkg862.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152431/original/image-20170111-4591-1lkg862.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152431/original/image-20170111-4591-1lkg862.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152431/original/image-20170111-4591-1lkg862.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152431/original/image-20170111-4591-1lkg862.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152431/original/image-20170111-4591-1lkg862.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Numbers don’t tell the full story of college costs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success">Piggy bank image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Let’s look at the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-19991487.htm">“2015 Education at a Glance”</a> report from the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/about/">Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)</a>. The report shows that public colleges in England charged the highest fees, when factoring in public aid, to domestic students (approximately ($9,000), followed by the U.S. ($8,200), Japan ($5,100), South Korea ($4,700) and Canada ($4,700).</p>
<p>But the numbers alone do not tell the full story.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.expertmarket.co.uk/most-expensive-places-for-university">simple comparison</a> between the total cost of tuition fees and the median self-reported income of the country reveals a very different picture: Hungary becomes the most expensive country, with 92 percent of median income going toward the cost of education, followed closely by Romania and Estonia. The U.S. ranks sixth on this listing. (This calculation does not factor in <a href="http://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-19991487.htm">loans and grants</a>.) </p>
<h2>Low or no tuition models</h2>
<p>Some countries take a very different approach, charging no or low tuition fees. According to the <a href="http://gse.buffalo.edu/org/inthigheredfinance/project_profiles.html">International Higher Education Finance</a>, a project sponsored by the <a href="http://www.rockinst.org">Rockefeller Institute of Government</a>, more than 40 countries offer free or nearly free post-secondary education to domestic students. These include Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, Uruguay, Scotland and Turkey.</p>
<p>A variety of approaches are used to fund higher education in these countries, such as imposing high taxes or making use of their significant natural resources (e.g., oil and natural gas reserves) to provide the financial resources for extensive social investment. </p>
<p>In other places, such as Germany, an egalitarian philosophy and deeply held beliefs about the value of a public education preclude the government from shifting costs to the students. In Germany, for example, there was a short-lived effort from 2005-2014 to charge minimal tuition, which was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/04/tuition-fees-germany-higher-education">rolled back</a> after a major public outcry. Germans strongly believe that higher education is a public good to be totally subsidized the government.</p>
<p>The point being in these countries students pay very little for post-secondary education – a policy shift going on in the U.S. </p>
<h2>The UK: A divided approach</h2>
<p>There have been attempts in other countries to shift some of the cost of higher education to students. </p>
<p>Following the great recession in 2012, England, for example, <a href="researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00917/SN00917.pdf">tripled tuition</a> in one year to approximately $11,000 (9000 pounds). The intent was to offset steep declines in government funding. Despite a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/thousands-put-off-by-university-tuition-fees-8025990.html">significant outcry</a> by students and other critics, these high tuition costs have stayed. </p>
<p>In fact, England <a href="http://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2015.htm">recently</a> surpassed the U.S. in terms of having the highest tuition fees of the 34 countries in the industrialized world. While the sticker price for many U.S. institutions is higher, financial aid helps bring down the total cost. </p>
<p>However, England’s “sister country” Scotland continues to provide more substantial subsidies for higher education, providing domestic students with <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-23279868">free access</a> to college while at the same time charging significant fees to students from elsewhere in the U.K. </p>
<h2>What about international students?</h2>
<p>The free tuition debate typically is domestically focused, but it can spill over into <a href="http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors#.WHaml32GzLg">affecting international students</a>. There are now more than one million international students in the US – comprising about 5.2 percent of the total number of college students. </p>
<p>The question now facing policymakers globally is whether to extend the concept of free college to international students or to let them be a source of additional revenues to offset costs of domestic students.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-losing-its-dominance-in-global-higher-education-market-46721">no-tuition and low-cost tuition models</a> have emerged as competitive advantages for attracting international students in many countries. </p>
<p>For example, a <a href="http://www.marketplace.org/2015/04/01/education/learning-curve/american-students-head-germany-free-college">growing number</a> of U.S. students are pursuing their degree outside of the U.S. in countries such as Germany and Scotland as they look for ways to escape the rising cost of college at home. Even though some U.S. students can receive subsidies to offset their education, those in the middle- and upper-income levels tend to receive minimal support and are also most likely to see studying abroad as a possibility. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152433/original/image-20170111-4601-gokazu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152433/original/image-20170111-4601-gokazu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152433/original/image-20170111-4601-gokazu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152433/original/image-20170111-4601-gokazu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152433/original/image-20170111-4601-gokazu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152433/original/image-20170111-4601-gokazu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152433/original/image-20170111-4601-gokazu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What do the costs mean for international students?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofpg/6162937613/in/photolist-aoAED4-aoAzHg-aoDjdA-dtzJCf-axDRtC-qPVSh8-aoDoNd-aoACyR-5B7RpA-j5aLgf-j5aLmf-aktkJq-9sUSXH-5RoJt1-aoABXe-aoDoU9-aoDfsm-bmVW27-5fHqKf-4Xfd1n-aoDie1-aoAxGp-j56wca-aoAyo4-aoAB68-aoAAsv-oU56K8-aoACgx-aoDi93-rcBamj-aoDggS-oU41KH-79A4J2-6HkJob-pbwmKA-rPkTW2-5fCNVr-5fHiaf-5B3A2R-5fCVNk-aoAvRH-axDRTh-5fCNvk-9dfKsM-8Fcjz8-CNAGm-hJoJXx-iSQkYb-6PALBd-hJoxuU">City of Prince George</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>New Zealand <a href="http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/education-at-a-glance-2016/indicator-c4-who-studies-abroad-and-where_eag-2016-26-en#.WHC5jX1thdY">saw the number of</a> international students quadruple from 2005 to 2014, soon after it made the decision to subsidize international doctoral students at the same level as domestic students.</p>
<p>In contrast, nations that have significantly increased their tuition costs for international students have found mixed results. </p>
<p>Denmark, for example, saw attendance from outside the EU <a href="https://www.nafsa.org/_/File/_/ie_julaug13_change.pdf">drop by 20 percent in one year</a>, after it introduced tuition fees for international students in 2006. Sweden too saw a massive drop in international students after it introduced fees in 2011-12 – the number of international students <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2015/12/swedens-international-student-numbers-up-for-the-first-time-since-2011/">plummeted by 80 percent</a>. (Some modest recovery has happened in recent years.) </p>
<h2>Implications for U.S.policy</h2>
<p>The issue in the U.S. is that it already has the largest share of the international student market – <a href="http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/education-at-a-glance-2015_eag-2015-en#.WHanyn2GzLg">approximately 15 percent</a> – and a steady stream of international students looking to study in the U.S. </p>
<p>In fact, state universities often seek to make up resource declines by increasing the number of full-fee paying international students. A recent report from the <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w22981">National Bureau of Economic Research</a> found that a 10 percent reduction in state funding resulted in an 12 percent increase in the number of international undergraduate students at public research universities.</p>
<p>A number of questions therefore arise when considering the implications for the “free college” policies in the U.S.: Could free college policies reverse the trend of more U.S. students studying outside of the U.S. to escape high fees? Could improved state funding in support of making college more financially accessible to domestic students stop colleges from actively seeking international students? Or, could it push these students into the private sector which will likely have more room as students take advantage of free public education?</p>
<p>There are far too many variables still in play to answer any of these questions. But while the push for “free college” in the U.S. may be a sexy political move, we need to think through intended and unintended consequences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70900/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason E. Lane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What does tuition-free college mean in other parts of the world? And what would it mean for international students?Jason E. Lane, Chair and Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership & Co-Director of the Cross-Border Education Research Team, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/626822016-09-19T19:58:12Z2016-09-19T19:58:12ZAcademics are unhappy – it’s time to transform our troubled university system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137320/original/image-20160912-3799-15pnh34.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C388%2C5708%2C3164&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students and staff leading a protest at Sydney University on August 17, 2016.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Milnes/Newzulu</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian academics are an <a href="https://news.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1297604/Duncan-et-al-AUR-57-01.pdf">unhappy</a> lot. Numerous <a href="http://www.nteu.org.au/wsu/article/NTEU-Survey-Results-2016-18764">surveys</a>, <a href="https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/whackademia_an-insiders-account-of-the-troubled-university/">books</a> and <a href="https://www.academia.edu/19714927/Producing_Anxiety_in_the_Neoliberal_University">articles</a> have drawn attention to this over the years.</p>
<p>The primary complaint is employment insecurity. This applies particularly to the reserve army of <a href="https://www.nteu.org.au/women/article/Media-Release%3A-Scale-of-Casual-Teaching-a-Wake-Up-Call-for-Australian-Universities-10984">67,000</a> casual staff who deliver over half the teaching in Australian universities. </p>
<p>But academics face other challenges. They are overwhelmed by unmanageable <a href="http://www.foe.org.au/challenging-privatised-university">workloads</a> and excessive <a href="https://news.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1297604/Duncan-et-al-AUR-57-01.pdf">demands</a> from a rapidly expanding bureaucracy of university managers and administrators. </p>
<p><a href="http://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1490923/The_Academic_Profession_in_Transition_Sept2011.pdf">Disenchantment</a> is particularly acute among higher-degree research academics and younger academics, although it cuts across all age levels and disciplines. </p>
<h2>Decreasing academic morale</h2>
<p>Despite ongoing complaints, things appear to be getting <a href="http://www.aur.org.au/article/Letter-from-the-editors%3A-Introduction-to-the-special-issue-%E2%80%93-Challenging-the-Privatised-University-%28AUR-58-02%29-18945">worse</a>. </p>
<p>Many academics trace their discontent back to the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2013.776990">Dawkins reforms</a> of the late 1980s. The reforms delivered a mass higher education market and cut-throat competition for student enrolments. Degrees were <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/education/Selling-Students-Short-Richard-Hil-9781743318898">branded</a> as “products” and students reduced to “customers”.</p>
<p>It’s little wonder that cracks have appeared in academic morale. Predictably, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/19714927/Producing_Anxiety_in_the_Neoliberal_University">reports</a> of mental health problems among academics are increasing. This highlights the human costs of supposedly economically rational policies.</p>
<p>Yet academic opposition to the troubled university system is more pronounced than ever. </p>
<p>This mirrors <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/mar/25/university-protests-around-the-world-a-fight-against-commercialisation">widespread student protests</a> over fee hikes and other market-driven policies in Germany, Italy, France, England, South Africa, Chile, Norway, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Such opposition has arisen in the context of a broader <a href="https://www.academia.edu/23908958/Fuck_Neoliberalism">critique</a> of <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2016/09/08/you-say-you-want-a-revolution/">market fundamentalism</a>. </p>
<h2>Call for reform</h2>
<p>Academics have responded by calling for institutional <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2015/11/20/reform-wont-do-it-australian-universities-need-revolution/">reform</a> to management and teaching, as well as an end to <a href="http://www.nteu.org.au/article/22-Universities-have-come-out-against-fee-deregulation.-18857">fee deregulation</a>, precarious employment and what many consider to be the exploitation of international students. </p>
<p>Organisations like Australia’s National Alliance for Public Universities <a href="https://napuaustralia.org/">(NAPU)</a>, which has over 2,000 members, the Council for the Defence of British Universities <a href="http://cdbu.org.uk/">(CDBU)</a> and the US-based Campaign for the Future of Higher Education <a href="http://futureofhighered.org/">(CFHE)</a>, all demonstrate this collective action agenda. </p>
<p>These initiatives have much in common, including their opposition to vocationalised education, privileging individual gain over the common good, casualisation and diminished academic autonomy. </p>
<p>While NAPU largely consists of academics, the CDBU boasts a broad membership of leading literary figures, journalists, Nobel laureates, former vice-chancellors, members of the House of Lords and former cabinet ministers. </p>
<p>Various professional associations, unions and employee federations, alliances, academic councils and numerous faculties also support the CFHE. </p>
<p>These alliances and campaigns dovetail with other forums that focus on radical alternatives to today’s market-driven university system. Examples include the <a href="https://brisbanefreeuniversity.org/">free university movement</a>, <a href="https://centerx.gseis.ucla.edu/principal-leadership/documents/PerlsteinTeaching%20Freedom.pdf">freedom schools</a>, the ecoversity, <a href="http://www.nape.or.ug/index.php/projects/sustainability-school">sustainability schools</a>, Indigenous <a href="http://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/book/bolivias-indigenous-universities">universities</a> and various progressive colleges like the <a href="https://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/">Schumacher College</a> in Devon and the <a href="http://www.theschooloflife.com/melbourne/">School of Life</a> in London and Melbourne. </p>
<p>Many of Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-needs-a-new-model-for-universities-43696">leading academics</a> have similarly taken a strong stand against commercialised higher education.</p>
<p>A key outcome of a <a href="http://arena.org.au/event/conference-help-challenge-the-privatised-uni/">recent conference</a> around the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-focus-on-private-investment-means-universities-cant-fulfil-their-public-role-45094">privatisation of universities</a> was <a href="https://friendsoftheearthmelbourne.good.do/thebrisbanedeclaration/sign_the_declaration/">“The Brisbane Declaration”</a>. This comprehensive statement outlines the central features of a genuinely public university system.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.aur.org.au/article/The-Brisbane-Declaration-%28AUR-58-02%29-18966">declaration</a> states that good universities are: </p>
<ul>
<li> communities, not for-profit corporations</li>
<li> democratic public institutions for the social good</li>
<li> fully funded by government and independent of corporate influence</li>
<li> dedicated to offering free, high-quality education</li>
<li> transparent and accountable</li>
<li> transformational, not merely transactional</li>
<li> democratically accountable to society as a whole</li>
<li> committed to an ethical and knowledge-driven curriculum that fosters critical reflection and creativity.</li>
</ul>
<p>The <a href="https://friendsoftheearthmelbourne.good.do/thebrisbanedeclaration/sign_the_declaration/">declaration</a>, which all are welcome to sign up to, calls for universities to cultivate collegiality and collaboration and encourage the free exchange of ideas.</p>
<p>Growing <a href="http://www.aur.org.au/article/Academics%2C-the-humanities-and-the-enclosure-of-knowledge%3A-the-worm-in-the-fruit-%28AUR-58-02%29-18951">evidence</a> suggests these conditions are vital for research and knowledge generation to flourish. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.billderesiewicz.com/books/excellent-sheep">Research</a> shows this environment, which fosters intellectual challenge and a care ethic, is what students also want. </p>
<p>The declaration also challenges the male-centred, scientific and colonial roots of <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/sociology/Southern-Theory-Raewyn-Connell-9781741753578">universities</a>. It calls for opening up universities to include more <a href="https://aboutabicycle.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/linda-tuhiwai-smith-decolonizing-methodologies-research-and-indigenous-peoples.pdf">Indigenous scholars</a> and those living and working in the Global South, as well as rejecting top-down pedagogy and curriculum.</p>
<p>Such calls come at a time when historically marginalised groups, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/nothing-has-changed-since-indigenous-higher-ed-review-41354">Indigenous Australians</a> and those from <a href="https://theconversation.com/nothing-has-changed-since-indigenous-higher-ed-review-41354">lower socio-economic backgrounds</a>, continue to be poorly represented among both staff and students. This reflects the ongoing failure to democratise Australian university campuses. </p>
<p>Inspiring examples around the world – such as <a href="http://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/book/bolivias-indigenous-universities">Bolivia’s indigenous universities </a> – show that another university, of the kind the declaration advocates, is possible. While Australia has been slow in building progressive higher education movements, this can be expected to change as we increasingly come to understand that our happiness, and so much more, depends upon it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62682/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Hil is affiliated with Ngara Institute</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Lyons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Academics feel insecure, are overwhelmed by unmanageable workloads and burdened by bureaucracy. And things are only getting worse.Richard Hil, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Human Serivces and Social Work, Griffith UniversityKristen Lyons, Associate Professor Development Sociology, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/556752016-03-03T11:19:38Z2016-03-03T11:19:38ZShould wealthier students get subsidized college education?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113593/original/image-20160302-25891-1e2tqpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Should college be free for all?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/1252393940/in/photolist-2UER5Y-8Kg5gC-epeWK6-6qQpsy-rKn3Y-epeYDv-5Dy8en-epf3w4-eqbdhE-eqbgj1-epf1vk-epeQsx-g7c5rR-fhvYG-2PJJS7-eqbcjA-5fHXC-73tDHU-eqbh8b-ju1QXw-epf3Ni-8Fozko-eqbe7E-eqb9yN-epeVV4-2PEhia-73pDov-epeQYH-epeSSR-epf1Qr-epeZoV-hfQ3Bw-epf2cD-eqbaym-epeUDn-eqbeo5-dUEdM7-epeTfF-8CVxjb-66zgNY-5uGfrA-fiB1MX-4rKaxc-7vYcoz-5ZkjCD-baEjSv-8CSswk-66zgtA-dQoaUW-7Acf9f">Bart Everson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last summer, as the presidential campaign was just getting rolling in earnest, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton <a href="http://theconversation.com/clintons-debt-free-college-comes-with-a-price-tag-46378" title=") "[New College Compact](https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/08/10/college-compact/ "">announced</a>,“ a proposal designed to provide relief for the rapidly rising sticker price of college. </p>
<p>Subsequently, Senator Bernie Sanders took Secretary Clinton’s proposal for debt-free college and doubled down on the idea by proposing to <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/its-time-to-make-college-tuition-free-and-debt-free/">eliminate college tuition entirely</a> in public universities and community colleges.</p>
<p>From my perspective, as a researcher of college access and finance over the last two decades, the reality is that free college makes little sense in today’s political and economic environment.</p>
<h2>Rising costs, Clinton’s plans</h2>
<p>Data from the <a href="http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing">Trends in Student Pricing</a> report show that in the decade 2005-06 to 2015-16, the average sticker (nondiscounted) price at public, four-year universities rose 40 percent in real dollars, that is, after discounting for inflation. </p>
<p>Prices at private four-year universities rose slightly less rapidly, 26 percent, but still greatly in excess of inflation. At community colleges they rose 29 percent.</p>
<p>The centerpiece of Clinton’s program is to invest US$350 billion over 10 years to help control the growth of college prices. As she states on her campaign website:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Students should never have to borrow to pay for tuition, books, and fees to attend a four-year public college in their state under the New College Compact. The additional support they receive will reduce all costs, including living expenses, by thousands of dollars. Students at community college will receive free tuition. Students will have to do their part by contributing their earnings from working 10 hours a week.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, in return for a modest amount of work, students would not have to borrow at all to pay the educational costs of attending a four-year public college (though they still may need to borrow for room and board). And students attending community colleges would not pay any tuition at all. </p>
<p>This amount would represent a doubling of the current federal investment in<a href="https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/pell"> Pell Grants</a>, by far the largest federal scholarship program for students from low- and moderate-income families.</p>
<p>Clinton’s plan would also provide grants directly to states to encourage them to slow the growth rate of prices in public colleges and universities.</p>
<h2>Sanders, Rubio, Cruz, Trump</h2>
<p>Senator Bernie Sanders took Secretary Clinton’s proposal for debt-free college even further by proposing to <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/its-time-to-make-college-tuition-free-and-debt-free/">eliminate college tuition entirely</a> in public universities and community colleges.</p>
<p>At a cost of $75 billion per year, or more than twice that of Clinton’s plan, Sanders’ proposal is targeted at young voters who are strapped to pay for college, or pay back the student loans they had taken out for college. </p>
<p>How are they going to pay for their free college plans? Both candidates have suggested similar strategies, Clinton by limiting tax credits and deductions for high-income Americans, and <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/its-time-to-make-college-tuition-free-and-debt-free/">Sanders</a> by imposing a tax on "Wall Street speculators who nearly destroyed the economy seven years ago.” </p>
<p>In comparison to their Democratic counterparts, the leading candidates for the Republican nomination have focused little on higher education.</p>
<p>Senator Marco Rubio is the only one of the GOP front-runners to talk about it in any detail. He <a href="https://marcorubio.com/issues-2/marco-rubio-position-higher-education-policy-college/">does not propose</a> any new federal investment in financial aid to help students cope with the growth of college prices. He focuses instead on encouraging innovation as a mechanism to bring prices down, by encouraging new providers in the higher education market and alternative delivery mechanisms that are perceived to be more efficient. </p>
<p>Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump – whose Super Tuesday performance has propelled him far ahead of his rivals – have been largely silent with respect to how they would lessen the burden of paying for college.</p>
<h2>Who needs free college?</h2>
<p>While the idea of free college has gained much traction in the media, the reality is that free college makes little sense in today’s political and economic environment. </p>
<p>All of the data point to the fact that <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/344/6186/843.full">college is still a good investment</a> on average, even with prices as high as they are. </p>
<p>While it is equally true that many students, especially those from poorer families, are <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/the-region/is-college-unaffordable">discouraged</a> from attending college by the high price, the reality is that net college prices – or what students actually pay after subtracting the scholarships they receive from the sticker prices – are <a href="http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing">rising less quickly</a> than are sticker prices. </p>
<p>For example, average net prices in four-year private universities increased only 1.3 percent over the last decade in real dollars, while prices at community colleges actually decreased. Only in public four-year universities have net prices tracked closer to sticker prices, largely because of the large state disinvestment in public higher education during the recession.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113600/original/image-20160302-25866-jmgnib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113600/original/image-20160302-25866-jmgnib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113600/original/image-20160302-25866-jmgnib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113600/original/image-20160302-25866-jmgnib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113600/original/image-20160302-25866-jmgnib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113600/original/image-20160302-25866-jmgnib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113600/original/image-20160302-25866-jmgnib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Do all students need free education?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fleshmanpix/8260830860/in/photolist-dzYVdh-64rPAo-5zd2cK-5AxiFe-5sfurc-so7APc-dkk864-7DxQw-nqez7k-bFmfvK-aMJ5rV-nqeh3n-5zjWKK-2zrBdL-aYmH8V-5sfuwD-nqerS3-qNMtEP-dzTr1T-dzTrwr-5zd2CH-dzTrFD-nqerCW-9qyfMw-dzTrz6-2zrBRN-apemzB-nJvgTP-dzYV8b-anbmFG-dzYVaG-b3Hzjc-dzYV3E-9weSom-avi2XE-8y32yB-nEFdJE-nGqVTr-nGqW7x-5zEzJi-dzTqqt-dzYURW-nqerDC-nGHRKX-bUH7WQ-nqerqS-nqezKK-5zjpeR-dzYVfu-nJvgTt">Michael Fleshman</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing">Another reality</a> is that students from upper-income families are attending college in record numbers and having little difficulty in paying for it. </p>
<p>So the question is: how can the expenditure of funds be better targeted?</p>
<p>In Clinton’s case, her $35 billion per year would better be spent, in my view, by doubling expenditures in the Pell Grant program, keeping the money focused on students from the bottom half of the income distribution. </p>
<p>Rather than giving subsidies to wealthier students who have demonstrated the ability and willingness to pay for college, current Pell recipients – whose grants are capped at $5,775 this year – could receive a Pell Grant in excess of $11,000. </p>
<p>If the same logic was applied to what Sanders proposes to spend, these same students could see their grants rise to almost $15,000.</p>
<h2>Giving money where it is needed</h2>
<p>The fact is broad subsidies end up benefiting many students who do not need the support of public funds to attend college. </p>
<p>So, an even better use of the additional funds proposed by the two Democratic candidates would be to split the money between increasing Pell Grants and providing more academic and social support to poorer and first-generation students both before and while they are enrolled in college. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html">federal TRIO programs</a> provide exactly this kind of assistance by offering academic support, mentoring and study skills services to first-generation students. The approximately $1 billion currently budgeted for these programs by the federal government, however, allows them to serve only about 10 percent of eligible students annually.</p>
<p>Expanding such programs, along with increasing targeted Pell Grant aid, would likely have a much broader impact on increasing the proportion of Americans attending college and earning degrees.</p>
<p>Whoever goes on to capture the White House in November can best tackle the problem of rising college prices by focusing any additional spending on students who truly need more support from the federal government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donald E. Heller has received funding for his research on college access and finance in the past from federal agencies and private foundations.</span></em></p>Presidential candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have proposed a debt-free or a free college education. Is this feasible? Should wealthier students get such subsidies?Donald E. Heller, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of San FranciscoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/549972016-02-29T11:33:00Z2016-02-29T11:33:00ZWhat Berkeley’s budget cuts tell us about America’s public universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113126/original/image-20160226-26701-7onagv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Can Berkeley stay Berkeley after budget cuts?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacksonpe/281628977/in/photolist-qTqu2-5m3T8b-fzdNBo-qTqnA-pCNeH-5kYD56-pdeAo9-QUGrs-7TRqG4-5m3Tzo-9nJshe-R3xxH-fy6HqE-9DqwD-eV1wof-5m3WFu-R3xzg-dWGjdK-aFnBLd-4tvmwp-2j7J6-DeoriD-aFnBgE-569G7H-5kYGrM-5zxMnQ-9Dqyu-oz6CVg-aDTEnx-Ab2jVu-5eDgAz-jo9mx5-5kYDRV-fWDAy-R3xwk-56dSvb-fWE1M-5kYDD2-C373-569FYT-5kYDmD-7y2RRV-dUfgsZ-7cKcVJ-aFiNrx-dKvSpT-7cWhgX-4jA8Kh-i5xzF1-cVE4a">Peter Jackson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The University of California at Berkeley <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/11/berkeley-announces-major-strategic-planning-process-address-long-term-budget-issues">recently announced</a> a financial restructuring due to mounting structural deficits, including a US$150 million shortfall in the current budget year. All areas of university’s operations – academic, administrative and athletic – will likely face spending cuts. </p>
<p>Higher education experts have begun to ask if Berkeley can stay Berkeley. From my perspective as a higher education researcher, the question is not just about the future of Berkeley, but about the financial constraints being faced by America’s public university sector. </p>
<p>Berkeley is America’s preeminent public research university. And its budget woes reflect the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/10/berkeley-is-facing-big-budget-trouble-painful-measures-ahead-for-nations-top-public-college/">long-term challenges</a> facing leading public institutions. Over the past few decades, most public research universities <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-21512-9_4">have struggled</a> to keep up. </p>
<p>Analysis from the Delta Cost Project, which provides policy-relevent higher education research, shows that between 2003 and 2013, state support for public research universities <a href="http://www.deltacostproject.org/sites/default/files/products/15-4626%20Final01%20Delta%20Cost%20Project%20College%20Spending%2011131.406.P0.02.001%20....pdf">declined by 28 percent</a> on a per-student basis. </p>
<p>This loss of state funding is a major source of strain for public universities. But my research shows how leading private research universities gain an advantage in many other ways as well. </p>
<h2>Public-private divide</h2>
<p>Let’s first look at the institutional wealth divide between public and private research universities. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aau.edu/about/default.aspx?id=58">Association of American Universities (AAU)</a> represents the nation’s top 34 public and 26 private research universities. In 2013 the average market <a href="http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2013NCSEPressReleaseFinal.pdf">value of endowments</a> held by private AAU universities was $7.1 billion, whereas the average endowment value held by public AAU universities was $2.6 billion. </p>
<p>Why do private research universities have much larger endowments?</p>
<p>Private universities have a <a href="http://www.nptrust.org/history-of-giving/timeline/1600s/">longer history</a> of cultivating private donors. Some of the earliest examples of philanthropic giving in the United States include gifts to Harvard University in the mid-17th century. A number of private universities, such as Carnegie Mellon University, were <a href="http://www.cmu.edu/about/history.html">later established</a> by philanthropic giving. </p>
<p>However, <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-21512-9_9">my research</a> shows that since the 1970s, top private universities have also taken advantage of changes to the rules that govern financial management for nonprofit organizations. These changes have permitted the wealthiest institutions to invest aggressively and use the majority of capital gains to further grow their endowments. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113127/original/image-20160226-26694-1hhx10t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113127/original/image-20160226-26694-1hhx10t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113127/original/image-20160226-26694-1hhx10t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113127/original/image-20160226-26694-1hhx10t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113127/original/image-20160226-26694-1hhx10t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113127/original/image-20160226-26694-1hhx10t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113127/original/image-20160226-26694-1hhx10t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Existing rules have allowed the wealthiest universities to grow their endowments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/69214385@N04/15346539542/in/photolist-po82xm-pTDUZg-p97fUJ-sja2pz-pa7sA5-ktNue3-4HfzMy-4HfzzW-69K2KX-QFtPt-QEiuJ-QFsgP-QEhPG-QFvYV-QFudv-QFvDH-QEk4S-jDTtG-QCkYH-4r4Y5p-QCmUx-px2qyV-jDRp8-jDQrb-7vX88m-jDQCv-jDTzf-dySA6a-jDPEu-jDRQY-jDRKz-jDSCz-jDPV9-mEpLt9-jDTk1-jDQf2-jDSgx-jDRVF-jDR3t-qzevrN-jDPsP-q4xdmq-jDTQD-jDSsm-jDP9E-jDRxW-jDPfA-jDTYy-jDU22-dyY1no">Don McCullough</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, there are differences in the way research funds are allocated.</p>
<p>About 60 percent of academic research is supported by <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsb20161/#/">grants</a> from the federal government. <a href="https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/webcaspar/">Data</a> from the National Science Foundation show the AAU’s private universities in 2013 received an average of $423.7 million in federal research support per university. This compared to an average of $363.4 million per institution among AAU public universities. </p>
<p>Public research universities receive fewer grants because of the way scientific research is funded. Grants are typically awarded to individual professors rather than to universities directly.</p>
<p>Professor salaries are <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/review_of_higher_education/v024/24.2alexander.html">significantly higher</a> at private universities. As a result, many professors who are successful at winning coveted research grants choose to work at private universities. </p>
<p>Even when the federal government made funds available for academic research as part of the spending package designed to jump-start the economy during the Great Recession, private universities were funded much more generously than public institutions. <a href="http://www.palgrave-journals.com/hep/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/hep201521a.html">My research</a> with <a href="https://www.coe.unt.edu/facultystaff-department/barrett-taylor">Barrett Taylor</a>, assistant professor at the University of North Texas, found that leading private universities were awarded nearly four times as much of these funds than were leading public universities on a per-student basis. </p>
<h2>Why does it matter?</h2>
<p>The competitiveness of public research universities matters because in an era of <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/05/u-s-income-inequality-on-rise-for-decades-is-now-highest-since-1928/">growing inequality</a> these are key points of access to a world-class education. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.aascu.org/policy/publications/policy-matters/TopTen2016.pdf">Public institutions face</a> mounting public accountability pressures that may not be as intense for private institutions. In addition, private universities are not obliged to provide access to a large number of students. <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/">Federal data</a> from 2013 show that the average AAU public university enrolled over 37,600 students, whereas their private counterparts enrolled on average fewer than 17,500 students.</p>
<p>Private universities restrict enrollments through selective admissions. <a href="https://collegescorecard.ed.gov%5D">Federal data</a> show on average 50 percent of applicants to AAU public universities are admitted, compared with just 18 percent at private universities in the AAU. Moreover, while on average 26 percent of students at AAU public universities come from families with modest incomes, only 15 percent of students at AAU private universities come from families with modest means. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113128/original/image-20160226-26687-1p29e95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113128/original/image-20160226-26687-1p29e95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113128/original/image-20160226-26687-1p29e95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113128/original/image-20160226-26687-1p29e95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113128/original/image-20160226-26687-1p29e95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113128/original/image-20160226-26687-1p29e95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113128/original/image-20160226-26687-1p29e95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why do we need public universities?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/masstravel/7644952620/in/photolist-cDyo4W-cDynm7-8xeMTK-8xeNc4-8xhPPs-4FHcAi-8xeMLi-oV1cPA-8xhPCj-8xi7wj-8xi7sq-bYjJZA-8xhPES-4FMk7q-773LEv-nZGPfr-ejTzd-83962x-8ovzZM-c4scds-838YMR-ejTes-773G3H-otgexF-8rjXyJ-CXFNZz-83caBd-7S335j-ejUhF-Kp63f-ejU8d-8pAyMv-Kp3Kb-9Nvxqd-bBqZGr-8Los5T-ejUeA-8qtR7c-bXKhku-8xf6iX-8xeMTn-8xeNzH-cDyeRJ-cDyfem-bWvv4A-3cW3MB-8xi7xW-8xhP85-4FMjYU-4FH9fr">Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Differences in student body size translated to vastly different levels of resources. On average private AAU universities held $500,000 of endowment resources for every student enrolled, compared to an average of $65,000 per student at public AAU universities. The greater resources held by private universities allow them to provide students with a richer experience.</p>
<p>Private university enrollments are also much more heavily concentrated at the graduate level – 50 percent compared to 26 percent at public universities. This is important because <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674049710">graduate students spend</a> much of their time conducting research, which can improve the chances professors at private universities will win grants. </p>
<p>My research shows that as a result, in 2013 professors at private universities in the AAU enjoyed over <a href="https://www.academia.edu/22564123/Data_for_What_Berkeley_s_budget_cuts_tell_us_about_America_s_public_universities_">$60,000 more per capita</a> in federal research funding than did professors working at public AAU universities. </p>
<h2>We need public universities</h2>
<p>During the <a href="http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=339">19th and 20th centuries</a>, public research universities led the way in expanding and developing what many consider to be the greatest system of higher education in the world. </p>
<p>The University of California was the model for great public universities, and Berkeley remains among America’s premier institutions. But budget cuts take a toll. Over the past 30 years, Berkeley and other public universities have found it difficult to compete with their private peers.</p>
<p>If these trends continue, many students in the United States may be denied an opportunity to experience education at a world-class university.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Cantwell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>State support for public research universities declined by 28 percent between 2003 and 2013. So, why does it matter?Brendan Cantwell, Assistant Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/461282015-11-08T19:20:55Z2015-11-08T19:20:55ZA shift towards industry-relevant degrees isn’t helping students get jobs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100692/original/image-20151104-25329-1d134r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is university all about being job-ready? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Competition between universities is more intense than ever, resulting in a shift towards industry-relevant degrees. </p>
<p>But this attempt to link universities and the economy has not been universally successful so far. Employers still complain that graduates <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2015/06/05/millennial-college-graduates-young-educated-jobless-335821.html">lack the necessary job skills</a>. Research shows <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/education/Selling-Students-Short-Richard-Hil-9781743318898">thousands of graduates are unable to obtain jobs</a> of their choice. </p>
<p>Are universities then going about things in the wrong way? Is university all about being job-ready? </p>
<p>And in the drive to make graduates more employable and move up the global rankings, has students’ ability to learn and choose the courses they want to study taken a hit?</p>
<h2>The corporatisation of our universities</h2>
<p>Universities share a commitment to delivering courses and programs that meet the needs of industry and the economy more generally. </p>
<p>This has been achieved by linking tailored degrees to employment outcomes and, in the process, restructuring course offerings and content.</p>
<p>This has resulted in more performance-based assessment and work-ready criteria, such as graduate attributes, which seek to capture generic skills and abilities that can be applied in the workplace.</p>
<p>While policymakers, university administrators and employers champion links between universities and the economy, thousands of graduates are still struggling to find work. </p>
<p>This is especially true in fields like engineering, teaching, nursing, law, speech therapy, finance and commerce and accounting. </p>
<p>Despite such concerns, universities continue to reform and restructure programs and courses with industry in mind. Often the bigger picture is ignored.</p>
<p>One of the most significant shifts towards streamlined, industry-relevant degrees occurred in 2007 with the introduction of the so-called “Melbourne Model”. </p>
<p>Melbourne’s vice-chancellor, Glyn Davis, justified the consolidation of undergraduate degrees on the grounds that this would avoid duplication and the delivery of <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2010/february/1284956481/margaret-simons/dangerous-precedent">costly small courses</a>. </p>
<p>But its <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2010/february/1284956481/margaret-simons/dangerous-precedent">primary focus</a> was to make the university more “globally competitive” in an increasingly cut-throat international market. </p>
<h2>When pursuit of profit gets in the way of learning</h2>
<p>The university cut 96 programs and replaced them with six US-style, three-year undergraduate programs, which fed into various postgraduate programs. </p>
<p>This offered the university huge potential for income generation, by reducing teaching costs and increasing income by offering higher-priced postgraduate courses. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97503/original/image-20151006-7366-1hnssoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/97503/original/image-20151006-7366-1hnssoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97503/original/image-20151006-7366-1hnssoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97503/original/image-20151006-7366-1hnssoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97503/original/image-20151006-7366-1hnssoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97503/original/image-20151006-7366-1hnssoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/97503/original/image-20151006-7366-1hnssoh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2007, Queensland University of Technology shut down its humanities courses due to high costs and poor employment outcomes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/zayzayem/3790779660/in/photolist-BHwhX-dTW9BM-dU2Lqu-ohw13Q-ohw1fd-ojvJfw-o34jZt-ohw1ay-ojmw6w-omiRmZ-ojxMz6-ojvJp9-eZdVr-eZdVv-eZdVt-6LYJJ1-nQnyNh-6jLZ35-6jJiAm-6jM1bL-6jGPap-6jLZxj-6jM1yf-6jGNQe-6jGNZB-6jJPzG-6jM1nG-6jM1JL-6jECiH-6jLZnL-6jLYTh-6jEBh8-6jJPjS-6jLYGq-6jGNoB-6jM1Uh-dUhsto-dTWamg-dUhhpd-dUbD6R-dUhgP1-dUhfx9-dUbBiV-dTW8in-dUbFEx-dUheo1-dUbH2g-dUbPB2-dUbCp8-dUhcGQ">Michael Zimmer/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Predictably, the most severe cuts were to arts courses. This in turn resulted in the <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/education/Selling-Students-Short-Richard-Hil-9781743318898">shedding of dozens of staff</a>, followed by protests by academics, students and some members of the public.</p>
<p>Despite this opposition, the Melbourne Model was a sign of things to come. </p>
<p>Earlier this year the University of Sydney, under the stewardship of vice-chancellor Michael Spence, sought to emulate the Melbourne Model and elevate Sydney in the university world rankings. </p>
<p>Spence’s management team did so by embarking on a similar process of course rationalisation. In June, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-02/sydney-university-looks-to-cut-undergraduate-degrees/6514194">the ABC reported</a> that the proposed changes would mean reducing the current 122 degrees to just 20. </p>
<p>Spence <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-02/sydney-university-looks-to-cut-undergraduate-degrees/6514194">argued</a> that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>if it’s a degree that is going to make our graduates more internationally competitive, more employable, it might actually be expenditure that’s worth it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Academics, administrative staff and students protested, arguing that staff redundancies would exacerbate an earlier round of cuts and reduce the quality and range of degrees.</p>
<p>Similar cuts to programs and staff at <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2010/february/1284956481/margaret-simons/dangerous-precedent">La Trobe University</a> were also intended to boost its place in the world rankings. </p>
<p>According to vice-chancellor John Dewar, “efficiency and quality-driven reforms” would allow for the introduction of hallmark or niche degrees relevant to the workplace of the 21st century. </p>
<p>Such changes, he added, would result in a “rejuvenated university”. He neglected to mention that over 300 jobs would be lost and numerous units cut.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/education/Selling-Students-Short-Richard-Hil-9781743318898">Similar restructuring exercises</a> have occurred at the universities of Tasmania, Swinburne, Monash, Victoria, Curtin, Newcastle, Charles Sturt and University of Western Australia. Such rationalisation exercises cut at the heart of universities, removing the very assets for which institutions are renowned. </p>
<p>The many examples of cuts to courses are accompanied by far-reaching changes to course content, with more emphasis placed on vocational outcomes. </p>
<p>Skills and knowledge “competencies”, “attributes” and other measures of performance have turned traditionally accepted pedagogical priorities like “critical thinking” into commodities marketed at prospective employers through e-portfolios and job-ready CVs. </p>
<p>Although the humanities, arts and social sciences continue to make up two-thirds of the undergraduate intake, these areas have been subjected to deep cuts or, as in the case of La Trobe University, fine-tuned to meet industry needs, or abandoned altogether (<a href="http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2007/04/qut-farewells-the-old-humanities/">as occurred at QUT</a>) in favour of “creative industries”. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, cuts have been made to peace and conflict studies, history, gender studies, philosophy and many languages. Industrially relevant “hard sciences” and courses like business, commerce and accountancy have proliferated.</p>
<h2>University education isn’t just about being ‘job ready’</h2>
<p>Is there any alternative to this streamlined and homogenised market-led agenda? </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.academia.edu/12192676/For_Slow_Scholarship_A_Feminist_Politics_of_Resistance_through_Collective_Action_in_the_Neoliberal_University">slow university movement</a> is characterised by scholarship and teaching that slows down the pace of knowledge production and celebrates collective and creative endeavours. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jan/28/free-university-movement-excluded-learners">Free universities</a> and various independent colleges highlight the possibility of a more social rather than economic approach to higher education. </p>
<p>In practice this requires:</p>
<ul>
<li>reassessment of links between universities, government and business;</li>
<li>the provision of more time and space for deeper learning;</li>
<li>greater emphasis on critical thinking and community action;</li>
<li>an education more relevant to everyday life. </li>
</ul>
<p>Decoupling education from markets will be a vital step in ensuring a vibrant democratic future.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Kristen Lyons and Richard Hil will take part in panel debates on November 23 to discuss the issues raised in this article as part of the <a href="http://privatiseduni.com/">Challenging the Privatised University conference</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46128/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Hil is affiliated with the National Alliance for Public Universities (NAPU)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Lyons is affiliated with the Queensland Greens.</span></em></p>Universities are cutting and streamlining their courses in an attempt to make graduates more employable. But lots of graduates are still struggling to find work, so why isn’t it working?Richard Hil, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Human Serivces and Social Work, Griffith UniversityKristen Lyons, Associate Professor Development Sociology, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/436622015-07-03T04:27:48Z2015-07-03T04:27:48ZPrivate universities in Africa are missing a trick<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86996/original/image-20150701-31882-zguzk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prospective students storm the gates at the University of Johannesburg in 2012. The demand for universities is soaring across Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adrian de Kock/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Private universities are <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001502/150255e.pdf">mushrooming</a> across Africa. This growth is largely a response to the continent’s soaring demand for higher education. </p>
<p>Research <a href="http://cdn.mg.co.za/content/documents/2015/03/06/african-higher-education-summit.pdf">shows</a> that the number of tertiary students in Africa almost trebled between 1999 and 2012, from more than 3.5 million students to more than 9.5 million.</p>
<p>The model for private institutions differs from country to country. For instance, many of <a href="http://www.nuc.edu.ng/pages/universities.asp?ty=3">Nigeria’s</a> approximately 60 private universities are less than a decade old and are owned by churches, businesses or even politicians. </p>
<p>In Ghana, these institutions are called university colleges – privately established but managed and accredited by older public universities. Most of Liberia’s private universities were <a href="http://www.cuttingtonuniversity.edu.lr/">established</a> by Christian missionary groups. </p>
<p>No matter their structure and location, these private institutions are a valuable addition to Africa’s higher education landscape – and, ultimately, the <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/03/12/setting-goals-to-revitalize-africas-higher-education-systems">continent’s economies</a>. </p>
<p>For one thing, they broaden access to higher education. In many countries, governments have focused their education funding on the primary and secondary sectors. This matches most donors’ priorities and the United Nations’ <a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">Millennium Development Goals</a>. </p>
<p>Public institutions are <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20130628103833793">scrambling for money</a>. They are also <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20131219200337393">crammed to capacity</a> and simply cannot cater for the <a href="http://thepienews.com/news/african-tertiary-education-cant-meet-demand/">growing number</a> of young Africans who want a university degree.</p>
<p>Though private universities are an important part of the sector, far more must be done to make them powerhouses of knowledge, research and graduate output.</p>
<h2>Flaws in the system</h2>
<p>About 90% of <a href="http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Policy-Documents/AfDB_Human_Capital_Strategy_for_Africa_2014-2018.pdf">Africa’s jobs</a> are in the informal economy, which is associated with low productivity, low quality and low pay. At the same time, the continent is urbanising rapidly and a natural resources boom has handed some countries a <a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2015/02/10/africa-needs-to-put-natural-resources-to-good-use">golden growth opportunity</a>. Africa badly needs the kind of skilled people that a good university can produce such as engineers, scientists and computer technicians.</p>
<p>Private universities are uniquely poised to address the continent’s economic and development needs. They don’t rely on government funding and are not subject to government pressure. They are often smaller than their public counterparts and are less bureaucratic by their very nature, so decisions can be made quickly. </p>
<p>Since their founders often come from the private sector, they ought to have better links to various industries and a better understanding of what kind of employees those industries need.</p>
<p>So what is holding them back?</p>
<p>The first constraint is that there is a shortage of PhDs on the continent. In <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20111209195021937">Nigeria</a> and <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20141030132504527">Kenya</a>, most university lecturers don’t have PhDs. The only way private institutions can get around the shortage is to employ senior academics from public universities on a contract basis. </p>
<p>These academics won’t quit their full-time jobs or give up the pensions they’ve been working towards for years. They consider the public sector more stable – but they welcome the extra income. The quality of teaching naturally suffers when academics are trying to do both their full-time and a part-time job.</p>
<p>Without senior academics qualified to supervise postgraduates, private institutions struggle to develop and produce their own research. There is also very little capacity for revamping existing curricula or developing totally new course material. </p>
<p>This means that private institutions tend to recycle public unversities’ old curricula so they are really not offering their students anything new or groundbreaking, and certainly nothing to justify considerably higher <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2015-03-16-so-you-think-your-african-university-fees-are-expensive-try-america">fees</a>.</p>
<h2>A functional model</h2>
<p>Although governments do not fund private universities, they do have an important role to play in building, supporting and monitoring the sector. They need to regulate private institutions so that they offer good quality education and qualification. </p>
<p>There is much to learn from Ghana’s model of university colleges. These encourage a good working relationship between private and public institutions. This is far more constructive than the rivalry that exists between the two sectors elsewhere on the continent.</p>
<p>Governments have the authority to bring public and private institutions to the same table and help them to establish productive partnerships. These can ultimately only benefit the entire higher education system – and Africa’s university students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43662/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Akanimo Odon is affiliated with Xn Foundation.</span></em></p>Africa needs private universities. But far more must be done to make them powerhouses of knowledge, research and graduate output.Akanimo Odon, Honorary/visiting fellow, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/407482015-04-27T10:19:05Z2015-04-27T10:19:05ZWill guns on campus lead to grade inflation?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79289/original/image-20150424-14549-pct27w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Guns on campus could lead to grade inflation.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=iIVSpnUi6Opw-Rb51b-xGA&searchterm=guns%20books&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=257300392">Hand image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article first published on April 27, 2015</em></p>
<p>Texas college professors may soon face a dilemma between upholding professional ethics and protecting their lives.</p>
<p>On Thursday, December 10, a task force at the University of Texas at Austin <a href="https://campuscarry.utexas.edu/CCWorkingGroup-FinalReport.pdf">recommended</a> restricting guns in residence halls, at sporting events and in certain laboratories, but allowed them in classrooms. </p>
<p>The 19-member task force was set up following a <a href="http://www.armedcampuses.org/texas/">“Campus Carry” law</a> passed by the state in Spring 2015. The law, which will come into effect on August 1, 2016, will allow people with handgun licenses to carry concealed firearms on college campuses. </p>
<p>With the recommendation to allow firearms in classrooms, a question coming up for many academics is whether they would be forced to give As to undeserving students, just so they can avoid being shot.</p>
<p>This is not as far fetched as it sounds. In my five years as a college professor, I have had experience with a number of emotionally distressed students who resort to intimidation when they receive a lesser grade than what they feel they deserve. </p>
<h2>Threats on campus</h2>
<p>Here is an example of one such threatening experience: one evening in a graduate course, after I handed back students’ papers, a young woman stood up and pointed at me. “This is unacceptable!” she screamed as her body shook in rage.</p>
<p>She moved toward the front of the class waving her paper in my face and screamed again, “unacceptable!” After a heated exchange, she left the room, and stood outside the door sobbing.</p>
<p>All this was over receiving a B on a completely low-stakes assignment.</p>
<p>What followed was even more startling. The following week, the student brought along a muscle-bound man to class. He watched me through the doorway window for the entire three hours of the class, with his arms folded across his chest.</p>
<p>And if this wasn’t enough, the young woman’s classmates avoided me on campus because, they said, they were afraid of getting caught in the crossfire should she decide to shoot me. </p>
<p>After that, every time she turned in a paper I cringed and prayed that it was good so that I wouldn’t have to give her anything less than an A. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79288/original/image-20150424-14549-1fe5xvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79288/original/image-20150424-14549-1fe5xvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79288/original/image-20150424-14549-1fe5xvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79288/original/image-20150424-14549-1fe5xvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79288/original/image-20150424-14549-1fe5xvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79288/original/image-20150424-14549-1fe5xvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79288/original/image-20150424-14549-1fe5xvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Guns on campus could create an environment of fear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=iIVSpnUi6Opw-Rb51b-xGA&searchterm=guns%20books&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=96350564">Gun image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Learning from this experience, now I give papers back only at the end of the class or just “forget” to bring them with me.</p>
<p>I was lucky that the student didn’t have a gun in my classroom. Other professors have not been so lucky. </p>
<p>In 2014 a student at Purdue <a href="http://bit.ly/1cRok1M">shot his instructor</a> in front of a classroom of students. In another <a href="http://wapo.st/1F7VjtF">incident</a> in 2009, a student at Northern Virginia Community College tried to <a href="http://www.nvcc.edu/depts/loudoun/loudounnews/articles/Viewpoint/EdBoard_04_11_LOCAL_help.html">shoot</a> his math professor on campus. And, in 2000, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95994">shot his English professor</a>. </p>
<p>In each of these states, carrying handguns on campus was illegal at the time of the shooting, although a <a href="http://5newsonline.com/2015/01/16/new-bill-could-allow-college-educators-to-carry-guns/">bill was introduced in Arkansas</a> earlier this year to allow students to carry guns. </p>
<h2>Grade inflation</h2>
<p>Despite these and other shootings, a new <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0319/Texas-Senate-set-to-pass-campus-carry-bill-How-common-are-guns-on-campus">trend</a> has emerged across the US that supports guns on college campuses.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.armedcampuses.org/state-laws/">Nine states allow firearms onto college campuses</a> and <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/30/push-concealed-guns-campuses-gaining-steam">11 states</a> are now considering similar legislation. </p>
<p>We know that some students will carry guns whether it is legal or not. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448480209596331#">One study found</a> that close to five percent of undergraduates had a gun on campus and that almost two percent had been threatened with a firearm while at school. </p>
<p>Allowing students to carry weapons to class strips off a layer of safety. Students are often emotional and can be volatile when it comes to their GPAs.</p>
<p>Who would want to give a student a low grade and then get shot for it? </p>
<p>Many majors are highly competitive and require certain GPAs for admission. Students on scholarships and other forms of financial aid must maintain high grades to keep their funding. It’s no surprise that some might students resort to any means necessary to keep up their GPAs. </p>
<p>An international student once cried in my office and begged me to change his F to an A, as without it, his country would no longer pay for him to be in the US. I didn’t. He harassed me by posting threatening messages on Facebook.</p>
<p>So, the question is, will we soon see a new sort of grade inflation, with students earning a 4.0 GPA with their firepower rather than brain power? And if so, what sort of future citizenry will we be building on our campuses?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Smartt Gullion does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Guns will be allowed on public universities in Texas from August 1. Given the recent incident of a student shooting the professor and then himself, reportedly over grades, are there reasons to worry?Jessica Smartt Gullion, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Texas Woman's UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.