Assessing the True Value of Higher Education

Benefits Verses Cost At what point do we say enough? Most of us can agree, these days the cost to attend some four-year universities can be extremely overwhelming. What exactly are students paying for anyways? There are many higher education videos and articles available to date in any college library, which ask this exact same question. I believe that if the powers that be cared more about the benefits and quality of higher education than they did about lining their own pockets, the cost of going to college would be considerably more affordable. The benefits of going to college may outweigh the cost if getting a degree makes students more marketable, secures job placement, and if the future salary is greater in return than the investment

There are many who believe the higher the tuition the better the education the student will receive. Nemko stated that even though some high school students are able to make it through college, he offered that the benefit for those students would not outweigh the “often six figure cost.” $100,000.00! What exactly are students are paying for? William Deresiewicz, who wrote “The Miseducation of America,” spoke of “institutional competition, expansion, and borrowing” as well as “administrative bloat, the rise of the “party track” and its concomitant amenities.” I believe this may be the bulk of what students are paying for in main stream universities. Colleges should promote what they have to offer based on what students are able to learn during the time spent at college, not based on which colleges have the most available amenities. Charging more for tuition can be beneficial to a college and its board members. However, it does not always seem beneficial to the students attending or family members paying the tuition fees. Nemko argues that “institutions tend to educate students in the cheapest way possible” and goes on to say that colleges offer big and small classes, but that the classes are being taught by teacher’s assistants and not professors. I believe that if a college is going to charge so much for students to attend, its classes should be taught by an actual professor. Deresiewicz emphasizes that “colleges and universities have a lot to answer for.” He states that “if they want to regain their support of the larger society, they need to prove that they are worthy of it.” One way to do this would be for colleges and universities to take all the funds they are putting elsewhere and invest it into the college professors. Professors should know that