The Rising Cost of College: Topic Proposal, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Education is the key to life. In today’s world for one to succeed in life, education must be incorporated into the youth. Individuals who are well educated have many job opportunities especially when they attend prestigious universities and colleges. They will have better living conditions as well as better socio-economic conditions. Many individuals are not able to attend higher learning due to several factors; high cost of college education and their socioeconomic status in the society.

The rise in costs of college fees is a key area of study. It details how the cost has been rising and its effects on the education sector as well as the job market. Rise in cost of fees leads to fewer students graduating from college hence, few fresh graduates in the job market. It also leads to students from the minority or poor people from getting access to higher learning.

Background

The cost of university fees has been on the rise every year and will continue to rise (McDonough, Calderone, Purdy, 2007). This increase has led to the discouragement of individuals form low income families from pursuing higher education. In the past, the federal and state governments had programs which benefited the low income students on merit basis. Merit programs were intended to partially award the brightest students with college cost in order to encourage other students to increase their performance.

Rationale

What are the contributory factors to the increase in cost of higher education?

• Socio-economic issues of the individuals in the society;

The social economic fabric of a given society determines the opportunities of education for students in the middle and low class families. Their income, education, family makeup and neighborhood surroundings determine the opportunities gap in which students are going to encounter.

• Competition, ranking and funding of institutions of higher learning;

Higher institutions of learning have a tendency of competing against one another in terms of courses being offered and facilities. They have also ventured into teaching performance skills for the job market instead of educating students (Sharp, Ward, & Hankin, 2009, p.102). These tend to increase the cost of education.

Method and Design

Casual analysis will be applied in the collecting and analyzing data. Information concerning the proposal will be collected from various sources in the educational institutions of higher learning and various educational offices. Various policies concerning the socioeconomic status of the population will be used to determine the student’s status within a given environment.

Institutions of higher learning have their own mission and policies which guide them in their operations. This will provide more information concerning the reasons for the increase in cost of education.

Significance and Conclusion

The research on the rise in college fees is a significant as it shows how various factors affect the opportunity of the youth to access higher education. Socio-economic factors in the middle and low class people, for example, low income, education levels and neighborhood conditions affect the opportunity of getting higher education’s for many students. This proposal seeks to portray the effects of increased educational cost on the lives of many students. Without proper education, many youth will not get respectable job opportunities. Also, the burdens of minorities and low class can be improved through the provision of student financial aid which enables them attend prestigious institutions of higher learning. This proposal does not seek to provide solutions but only highlight the effects and causes of rise in cost of education.

References

McDonough, P. M., Calderone, S.M., & Purdy, W.C. (2007). State grant aid and its effects on students’ college choices. Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Sharp, J., Ward, S. & Hankin, L. (2009). Education studies: An issue based approach. UK: Learning Matters