Tornado Alley (PROG)

[dukeb]

That's a really good question. As I understand it, Universities in the U.S. have become bloated with multiple layers of administrators. I don't know if that happens in other countries. In addition, American colleges have are playing a game of one-upsman-ship. Luxurious dormitories, professional grade sports facilities, performance spaces that rival those on Broadway. These are nice things to have, no doubt, but the cost of providing those amenities add up and get lumped into the costs of every student - whether they utilize them or not.

In addition, the loan money that is so easy to get allows students to borrow with nary a thought to pay the ever increasing costs of attending college.

Some schools are already scrambling to find enough students to fill their classrooms and dormitories. Perhaps they have priced themselves out of the market. I dunno.

I'm all for providing a free (at least) 2 year college education to anyone who qualifies. Beyond 2 years I think it's important that a student have some skin in the game. I went to an Ivy and was friends with lots of kids that received various kinds of financial assistance. One friend was truly brilliant. He was going for two undergraduate degrees at the same time (Business and Engineering) and he had a free ride due to financial need. The kid breezed through his freshman year without attending a single class. He knew most of the material from his prep school days (another free ride) and would walk into the exam room and get an A or B. During Sophomore year that attitude started to fall apart. He didn't know the more advanced material and yet he continued to blow off every class. He started getting Ds and Fs. After 4 years of hanging out and drinking he left without any degree at all. Had he or his parents been responsible for at least a portion of those college costs I doubt they would have allowed him to waste four years of tuition and other expenses (as well as 4 years of his life) accomplishing nothing.

College is basically free for every other industrialized country in the world. How do they manage to to it?