Is Cost of Higher Education High: Who Pays? Who Benefits? (Essay Sample)

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Is Cost of Higher Education High?
These days, high schools, vocational training centers, colleges, and universities cost more than ever, and there are various reasons for that. First of all, the number of students seeking admission in graduate and postgraduate classes has increased. Secondly, teachers and professors demand better salary packages and free medical and transportation facilities. At the same time, our colleges and universities need lots of money for classroom maintenance and provision of educational resources as well as laboratory equipment. Despite the high costs, we should not forget that higher education is more valuable and guarantees a well-paying job to determined, hard-working and dedicated professionals.
Roberts, Mathew. Higher Education: Who Pays? Who Benefits? Who Should Pay? McGraw-Hill, 2014.
In his book, Higher Education: Who Pays? Who Benefits? Who Should Pay? Roberts Mathew argues that if we want to have the best university system with lots of facilities, someone will have to pay for it. Our parents are responsible for paying our school, college and university fees, and if they show carelessness or have some financial problems, we can opt for other options like doing part-time jobs, selling old clothes online and making money, and applying for scholarships or university loans. It’s true that cost of higher education is high, but it eventually guarantees a bright and prosperous future which is the dream of every person. Mathew further says that the tuition of higher education has skyrocketed, but we have been provided with a vast range of subjects and specializations, and it's easy for us to choose the right kind of subjects and transform our lives. Minority students are now showing more interest in postgraduate and doctoral programs than the others. Colleges and universities don’t need to cut off their fees as they have to deal with a lot of challenges. The writer also claims that today’s institutions are increasing tuition and fees slowly as they don’t want to put an extra burden on students and parents.
Al-Salam, Nabeel. The Cost of Higher Education. U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Educational Resources Information Center, 2015.
According to Al-Salam Nabeel, the U.S. Department of Education has failed to cut off the cost of higher education. They should take serious yet wise steps as poor students are already facing numerous problems. During studies, it is not possible for them to do full-time or part-time jobs and some of them are even asked to quit studies because of financial problems. Various graduates, after completing their studies, start looking for jobs as they cannot afford higher education. As the fee for a postgraduate program increases, students are advised to work harder to support their studies. We cannot step forward and fulfill our dream of a bright future with a high school certificate or an ordinary college degree. What we have to do is opt for a specialization and seek admission in postgraduate or doctoral program. Isn’t higher education too expensive? Well, it is but the benefits of higher education cannot be ignored. Al-Salam analyzes that college and university costs rise yearly at a rate of 10% and expenditure per student has fallen in different countries. Are the vice chancellors trying to bring all money home? Nabeel claims that the colleges and universities provide students with numerous educational and research facilities, but at the same time, they have become a little “greedy and selfish” and want to save much more than ever.
Huisman, Cate. The Student Mentoring Program, 1989-1992. Retrospective Report. Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse, 2015.
In The Student Mentoring Program, professor Huisman Cate wrote that public funding for higher and technical education was massacred with time and the ever-increasing cuts led colleges and universities to increase tuition, which in turn forced students to quit their studies or opt for educational loans. In short, this has disturbed the overall environment as various poor students are left alone. They either have to do a part-time job, which is indeed a massive threat to their studies, or have to apply for scholarships as well as university loans. That may affect their studies and research projects, and they may not be able to get good scores in exams. So, how can they become responsible citizens of tomorrow? The college and university administrators should implement student-friendly policies and ensure that both rich and poor pupils get plenty of chances of continuing their education without worrying about tuition. At the same time, we should not forget that the costs of electricity, lab equipment, and other educational resources have increased, and colleges and universities have been forced to charge at least $7000 per semester. We still have a number of choices: parents can support their kids’ education partially or fully, according to their financial situation. Secondly, colleges and universities do need to change their policies a little to attract more students towards postgraduate and doctoral degree programs. Thirdly, students can do part-time jobs but only if those jobs don’t distract their attention from studies. We can easily find the solution to our f...