Kevin Carey: Why Do You Think They’re Called For-Profit Colleges? After perusing the words of Kevin Carey in his work, Why Do You Think They’re Called For-Profit Colleges, it would be easy to assume that, in his mind, the downfalls overpower the threads of benefits found in for-profit institutions. After reviewing his article, this would definitely be the opinion of any reader; notwithstanding, his intent is to persuade his audience that for-profit colleges are a victim of unfair treatment. However, Carey exhibits a major flaw in his presentation: in an effort to justify his position he first lists known oppositions, but does not address them. Carey introduces a man named Michael Clifford—a successful entrepreneur with no college education. …show more content…
When people like Clifford examine education, it is not the worth and value they see, but the opportunity for profit. With nearly $5-billion provided from the federal government, for-profits are able to advertise 24/7 availability, along with quick and easy degrees. As stated in the article, “a quarter of all federal aid goes to for-profits, while they enroll only 10 percent of students” (216). Yet, the cost of tuition at for-profit institutions continues to be significantly higher than colleges and universities—leaving many graduates with a lifetime of debt—while maintaining they do not “have any responsibility whatsoever for how much students borrow and whether they can pay it back” (218). What Carey presents as a measure of success proves to show exactly what damages for-profits cause. While federal-aid helps people like Clifford in their desire to make a fortune, colleges and universities are prevented from receiving what could help achieve their desire to provide valuable education to their students. Although Carey proceeds to advocate his view that for-profits have their place in the market, the benefits—accessibility, speedy degrees, etc.—do not come close to …show more content…
To be able to contribute to humanity with the skills, knowledge, and experience gained with a degree is the true measure of success of a liberal arts graduate. What is the value behind the physical degree earned at a for-profit institution? According to Ungar and Wallace, the only reward is being able to hang a certificate on the wall and claim a degree on paper. Although students can quickly earn degrees to be able to get better-paying jobs faster as Carey advocates, graduates only feed their desire to quickly get what will benefit only them. This is the same self-centered attitude that Wallace describes liberal arts students overcome in their schooling, which is what makes them so valuable to society. Simply put, Ungar and Wallace would easily devour any claim of Carey that for-profits have their place because the lack of rigorous coursework, discipline, and character development found in for-profit institutions does not produce valuable members of
College is marketed towards students as an essential part of building a successful future. The United States “sells college” to those who are willing to buy into the business (Lee 671). With the massive amounts of student debts acquired every year, and the rising costs of
controversial groups voice three key arguments: (a) that college is not affordable, (b) that the
Dale Stephens argues that college isn’t right for everyone. He acknowledges that he left college because he believed that higher education isn’t everything. Dale clarifies that college is expensive. He refers to College Board Policy Center because tuition is about 3.6 times higher today than it was 30 years ago. He brings up good points but bases his ideas off his own opinions not facts. This is a strong argument because when the tuition is higher, it will be harder for and more people to pay for it. This encourages others to look for an alternative path to follow.
In the essay, “College Consumerism Run Amok” authored by Kevin Carey describe how colleges are careless with their money. Throughout the essay, Kevin Carey explains why normal people think the average price of college tuition has risen across the United States. People believe college tuition is rising because students demand colleges to have “creature comforts”, such as luxury dorms, a fully operational gym, and a climbing wall. Also, that the creation for “creature comforts” in colleges has caused academic standards to decline. Yet, colleges market to students with these amenities instead of showing students comparable statistics: the quality of teaching, scholarships, and academic environment. Kevin Carey, in the end, sums up his idea with
In the article “College is Not a Commodity. Stop treating it like one,” Hunter Rawlings explains how people today believe that college is a commodity, but he argues that it’s the student’s efforts; which gives value to their education. Rawlings states that in recent years college has been looked at in economic terms, lowering its worth to something people must have instead of earn. As a professor Rawlings has learned that the quality of education has nothing to do with the school or the curriculum, but rather the student’s efforts and work ethic. Rawlings explains the idea that the student is in charge of the success of his or her own education, and the professor or school isn’t the main reason why a student performs poorly in a class. Rawlings
In “Two Years Are Better than Four”, Liz Addison argues against Rick Perlstein’s article “What’s the Matter With College?”. While Perlstein questions the value of college as it currently is, Addison argues that the “community college system is America’s hidden public service gem”(Addison 257). By way of that, she defends the value of college. Unsurprisingly, as with most situations, the truth is somewhere in between ends of a spectrum created by these two articles. While I agree with Addison’s idea of community college being an accessible starting point for everyone, she fails to appropriately represent the unique culture often found in these types of colleges. Also, I think that she also fails to look at the overall purpose of attending school and then neglects to acknowledge the benefits of a four year university.
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
Community colleges and vocational tracks are not wrong about the high cost of traditional higher education. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, one year at a public, four-year institution costs upwards of $23,000 on average, while private institutions will cost nearly $10,000 more on average. Coupled with the fact that prices at public institutions rose 42 percent and private institutions rose 31 percent between 2001 and 2011, it’s not a shock that parents and students alike worry about paying for college. However, this won’t always be the case, as this rise in prices simply cannot continue the way it has. Eventually, people will be unable to pay the price that colleges charge. They will either settle for com...
In my family, I was always expected to go to college right after high school, but I didn’t know it was going to be expensive. College tuition is very expensive, and graduating with debt is becoming highly common nowadays. The two essays I chose for this paper are Andrew Hacker/Claudia Dreifus’s “Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission”?, and Kevin Carey’s “Why Do You Think They’re Called For-Profit Colleges”?. Because they have similar messages that they both are trying to inform us about. But Hacker and Dreifus College use evidence in better ways they are more organized by putting their topics into categories and explaining what the main sentence means, and you know what they are trying to say; Carey’s writing is more scattered around, so you don’t know what comes next. Although they both talk about college finances, Hacker/Dreifus make a better understanding of the essay, and they keep you
Throughout the years, America has always debated whether education is needed- if it helps people succeed or not. The argument in the past was always over high school education, which is now mandatory. That decision has helped the US rise economically and industrially. Today, the US is in the middle of the same debate- this time, over college. Some, like David Leonhardt, a columnist for the business section of The New York Times, think a college education creates success in any job. Others, such as Christopher Beha, an author and assistant editor of Harper’s Magazine, believe that some college “education” (like that of for-profit schools) is a waste of time, and can even be harmful to students. Each stance on this argument has truth to it, and there is no simple answer to this rising issue in an ever changing nation full of unique people. Any final decision would affect the United States in all factions- especially economically and socially. However, despite the many arguments against college, there is overwhelming proof that college is good for all students, academically or not.
In past years, when people were talking about higher education, they had no hesitation to mention university immediately. When others were mentioning that college, like two-years college and community college, also belonged to higher education, sometimes they reacted with a wry smile, and shook their heads. Yes, even if it is for today, university gets the higher appraisal than college, and even somebody think ‘‘college as America used to understand it is coming to an end.’’(Addison,255) As parents, they prefer their children to study in university instead of community college or two-years college, no matter how high of tuition the university it is. They ignore the value of these colleges. Although sometimes college such as community college
Over the past years of getting a college degree was the pathway to get a settle career. College has been a reason for people to carry on after high school. Now that tuition has been raised, getting a degree seems to drain students with more loans and could be in debt. College has been raised to the point where people rather start working at a minimum wage than continuing with school. Working on a part time job would be an easier choice rather than pursuing towards their degree. As people attend college, fees build up and students loaning money and possibly be in debt. Not only that, some may say college isn’t worth it, but it is. Getting a degree pays off at the end going towards your career path, making twice as much as you would work at a regular job. Students who have received a degree are slowly declining. To make adjustment, College should be free for
In Charles Murray’s essay entitled “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, he discusses the influx of Americans getting a college education. He addresses the topic of Liberal Arts education, and explains that not many people are ready for the rigorous challenges a liberal-arts degree offers. In addition, Murray explains that instead of a traditional degree more people should apply to technical schools. He believes that college should not be wide spread, and that it is only for those who can handle it. These viewpoints harshly contrast with Sanford J. Ungar’s views. Ungar believes college education should be widespread, because a liberal-arts degree is, in his opinion, a necessity. He argues that a liberal-arts college is the only place that
As colleges’ funds dry up, colleges must turn to the public to further support higher education. By raising state taxes, colleges can collect funds to help improve the school’s budgets. The state provides funds from the taxes for colleges to receive a certain amount for each student currently enrolled. All community and traditional four year colleges collect these funds in order to maintain the school’s budget. As reporter, Eric Kelderman states, “less than a third of colleges’ budget is based from state taxes”. The school’s budget is how colleges are able to provide academic support programs, an affordable intuition, and hire more counselors. Colleges must now depend on state taxes more than ever for public colleges. Without collecting more funds from state taxes, as author, Scott Carlson explains how Mr. Poshard explains to senators “our public universities are moving quickly toward becoming private universities…affordable only to those who have the economic wherewithal to them” (qtd. in.) Public colleges must be affordable to anyone who wishes to attend. If colleges lack to provide this to students, it can affect dropouts, a student’s ability focus, and cause stress. The problem of lack of funding is that colleges have insufficient funds. Therefore, the best possible solution for the problem of lack of funding would be increasing and collecting more funds from state taxes.
For most young Americans, college has always been preached to them as being a vital part to their success in the adult world; but as they reach this educative rite of passage many find they must take out inflated loans, work part time jobs, or even become dissuaded entirely due to the exorbitant costs of higher education. We must forsake this current antiquated system in favor of government subsidized tuition. Therefore, college education must be free because of its benefit to the economy, creation of equal opportunity, and the resolution of the student loan crisis.