education

Funding Pressures

Posted by Richard on Tuesday, 13 January 2004

Some views on the cost of university education from Britain:

  • Conservative British MP Michael Howard: “we believe that entry to university should be based on ability to learn, not ability to pay. If you are good enough to go to university, financial concerns should not hold you back.”
  • Essex University Professor Anthony King: “Pressure to be research-active combined with the pressure that arises from a doubling of student numbers results in a powerful downward pressure on the time and energy universities can devote to teaching. There is no alternative.”

University Funding As Investment

Posted by Richard on Tuesday, 13 January 2004

Martin Ertl: “in the case of universities there is a compelling case to be made that in fact spending on universities is actually an investment for the government. That's to say that there is actually a return on the spending that the public provides to universities. That return comes in the form of additional tax dollars from graduates, who are higher-income earners as a result of their higher education, and it comes from the economic value that's created by the research, and that improves the standard of living for British Columbians.”

This is along the same lines as Robert C. Allen, who argues that alumni pay the full cost of their education [PDF] even if it's subsidized by the government through the higher taxes they pay because of the higher earnings they earn as university graduates.

No Amount of Education?

Posted by Richard on Tuesday, 24 September 2002

Elliott Cohen: “As an unemployed 24-year-old psychology major graduate with two additional diplomas, let me be the first to tell you that this reality of 'work' after school could not be further from the truth. Being unable to find work in my field, I have started looking for unrelated work just to survive.”

I was reading this letter to the editor (Vancouver Sun) while sipping on my orange juice this morning. I'm an under-employed Political Science graduate, so I know a little bit about what he's talking about.

“I want every reader to know that no amount of education prepares students with work skills or for work itself. A word of advice: Before enrolling in a post secondary institution, consider whether the time, effort and money are really worth it.”

I have a little problem with that paragraph. The first sentence is a little hard to believe (no amount of education?), and the second seems a little overly cautious. I enjoyed university because of the new ideas and the interesting people. It's only really worth it if you have the time and money (which I did), but if you do, I would highly recommend any type of higher education, just for the person you become because of it.

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