Why Does College Cost So Much? Research Paper Example

Introduction

It is clear that education occurs as a part of the governmental policy, since all the citizens are interested in qualitative learning process and the efficient system of knowledge assessment, respectively. Naturally, there are certain approaches to arranging the education system in different countries; a peculiar thing is that these very approaches often vary, depending on the region. Nonetheless, the notion of education is often compared with the accountability, which proves to be “the matter of concern to governments everywhere” (Schofield, 1999, p. 10). In any way, as for this essay, it communicates the development of a program that gives young Americans paid college education yet drawing special attention to not paying high interest rates; the thing is that people should definitely pay for an education, since it occurs as an investment; regardless of this fact, the decision to continue education does not have to result in serious consequences of being in debt for the rest of your life; to be precise, the focus lies in arguing that the United States should be focused on promoting paid college education yet forgiving high interest rates. Obviously, such an approach is likely to be an integral part in keeping the US society at the forefront of the world economy.

The Merit of Paid Education

Apparently, modern-day society proves to be extremely interested in obtaining higher education; as a result, “… more students have elected to attend college, driving up the demand for higher education.” (Li, 2013, p. 48) Not surprisingly, each state in the United States can be characterized by some special requirements for the teachers as well as the students, including, for instance, achievement standards, core curriculum statements, teacher certifications standards; the thing is that the aforementioned dimensions appear to monitor the activity within the educational institutions. All in all, apart from the crucial criteria of high-quality assessment within the US education, it is worth drawing special attention to the fact that a growing number of Americans emerge to be aimed at “getting their degrees in other countries” outside the United States (Carapezza, 2015); looking into the essence of this tendency, one cannot but encounter the fact that the previous US education system was based on requiring thousands of dollars to pay for studying in numerous educational institutions; a peculiar thing is that “… higher education is an industry.” (Archibald & Feldman, 2011, p. 48) Consequently, in view of many critics, the problem proved to be exceptionally about being forced to pay debts while studying.

Modern-Day Tendencies

Education is one of the most fundamental stages in people’s life. Each one sooner or later becomes a student, targeted on gaining knowledge in certain subject areas. In terms of this, the sociology of education gives the chance to know how public institutions and personal experience are related to each other. With the development of globalization and establishment of industrial society, education is perceived as the key element to successful future because of its constant endeavor to progress and betterment, providing all the necessary means for achieving better social equality. It is important to admit that today’s higher education has changed dramatically from a place “…reserved for a relatively small fraction of the population, something of a social and academic elite, to one frequented by a broad cross-section of students.” (Kim & Rury, 2007, p. 305) Apart from above-said, it is worth taking into account the fact that the students of 21^st century should obviously be allowed to skip paying high interest rates, since the issue of student loan debts appears to throw the potential students away from the chance to become proficient within certain field of studies; the point is that loans have “…the purpose of allowing students to postpone when they pay for college.” (Heller, 2013, p. 17); and the problem is that “…their role is very different from that of grants.” (Heller, 2013, p. 17)

Conclusion

To sum up, it is worth saying that the student needs to have the freedom of academic choice and opportunity in order to be educated in accordance with his interests and be provided with job of his dream. The quality of education also greatly matters as the strong academic platform supported by educational programs and training builds knowledgeable individuals who can develop and share their own opinions and life positions. Students should have the chance to become critics and analysts. All in all, it is necessary to indicate that developing a program, aimed at allowing Americans to be free from paying high interests rates, emerges to be the matter of great importance. The thing is that donating more government funds to get young Americans into colleges proves to be an integral part of attacking the problem of inefficient education system. Inevitably, a long-term solution to ineffective education system within the United States of America is going to demand the authorities as well as schools to cooperate so as to cut high interest rates.

References

Archibald, R., and Feldman, D. (2011). Why Does College Cost So Much? New York: Oxford University Press.

Carapezza, K. (2015 April 1). American Students Head to Germany for Free College. Marketplace. Retrieved from http://www.marketplace.org/topics/education/learning-curve/american-students-head-germany-free-college

Heller, D. E. (2013). Does Federal Financial Aid Drive Up College Prices? Washington, DC: American Council on Education: Leadership and Advocacy.

Kim, D., and Rury, J. (2007). The Changing Profile on Postsecondary Access: The Truman Commission and Enrollement Patterns in the Postwar Era. History of Education Quarterly, 47(3), 302-327.

Leslie, L. L., & Brinkman, P. T. (1988). The Economic Value of Higher Education. New York: Macmillan Publishing.

Li, H. (2013). The Rising Cost of Higher Education: A Supply & Demand Analysis. Unpublished honore thesis, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York.

Schofield, K. (1999). “The Purposes of Education,” Queensland State Education: 2010, [Online] URL: www.aspa.asn.au/Papers/eqfinalc.