How to fix America’s Higher education program.
or how to address America's and student's future needs.
A major issue in recent time has been how to deal with Higher Education. Many people have claimed that accumulated debt from college ( mostly Bachelor level or less) has stymied our economy. Yet, these were debts that people freely choose to incur as opposed to working their way through school or even prepaying with the GI bill.
Another major issue, is the costs of Higher Education. It is costly, and yet these people choose to go into degrees that they KNEW ahead of time would pay relatively little. So why did these students take these degrees? Because the degrees were easy and/or fun. Business, Liberal Arts, most of the social science, esp. Political Science, are relatively easy degrees. This has also created a lot of other issue that few of those in debt, or our illustrious politicians, are talking about: An extreme shortage of needed degrees and trades in America.
We regularly see companies like Google, Microsoft and others speaking of needing Computer Science, but rarely do they speak of the many other degrees AND trades that America needs.
Needs
Just some of our needs are:
Hard science such as Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.
Engineering such as Aeronautical, EE, ME, Chem. E, Manufacturing E, Nuclear E, etc.
Math and Computer Science (Cyber Security, AI, general programming, etc).
Robotics.
Most Medical fields such as Nursing, P.A.s, Pharmacy, Radiation Tech, X-ray techs, etc.
Soft science such as Biology, Microbiology, etc.
Teachers in ALL capacities.
Trades such as construction, plumbing, electrician, etc.
In the near future, social sciences in sociology, and psychology will be sought by LEOs.
Languages of all types.
And ALL of these really need to require that the student take up entrepreneurial class or 2.
Interestingly, you can bet that EVs along with space exploration will create new needs.
Solutions
So, how to solve all 3 of these with 1 stone? Simple.
With the following, please recall what a great man once said:
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,”.
Sadly, these days, everybody is demanding that government gives to them, instead of the other way around. This is bad, but able to be addressed.
I suggest that anybody that applies and is accepted into any of the above fields/trades at a University/College will get 1 free semester of education. That includes tuition, fees, books, & yes, room/board if at a University ( on-campus only ).
At the end of the semester, their semester grades will determine what happens in the following semester (4.0 scale):
3.5-4.0 => 100% funded .
3.0-3.5 => 75% paid. Obviously, the student will have to work, borrow, or use savings if they wish to remain.
2.5-3.0 => 50% paid. And the student will have to work harder to pay the rest.
< 2.5 => a nice clean application to McDonald’s, Wendy’s or the job of their choosing.
IOW, we need to make sure that these students are applying themselves to learning. If they are not, then there is no sense in our funding them. And the above should be time-limited. For someone in a 1-2 years degree, it should allow for 1.5-2.5 years. For a 4 year bachelors, an extra year. But, I would also encourage payment to be only 50% of what they would get normally. So, if they were at 2.9 GPA, they would only get 25%.
For those coming from poorly rated primary schools and fail an entry level qualification test, I recommend that we drop all ranges by .5 (i.e bottom would become 2.0 instead of 2.5) for 1 semester/year. In addition, they must take remedial classes to address these shortcomings. These are typically poor people that need HELP and opportunities (though plenty of poorly rated primary schools in rich districts). It should not be based on race, sex, religion, gender, etc. It should be based on the school that they attended and the fact that they worked at it hard enough to actually get into these programs. They just need some help and opportunity.
Finally, we need to solve the issue with Higher Education costs rising so fast. Again, a simple answer can solve this. We require that if a University or College wants federal funding for their students education, which includes this program along with Pell Grants, they must raise tuition/educational fees ONLY by inflation. If a University/College is going to spend money on improving their research or sports programs, then let them get that money from the state or private sources. It absolutely should not come from the students education. A number of universities will scream about this, but the feds are under no requirement to fund private or state universities. This is about funding needed degrees/trades while at the same time, making it possible for a student to finish a 1,2, or 4 year degree without massive debt.