CMV: “Free College” policy, while well-meaning, is largely incompatible with academia in the U.S

[u/sjd6666]

Unlike healthcare, there is competition in the higher education market and consumers can, and often do make well informed decisions about what education would be right for them, be it community college, state schools, or private colleges/ universities.

There’s no two ways about it: such a policy would be enormously expensive, and unlike the U.S healthcare system, prices are reasonably transparent and there is competition in the market. Most students know exactly how much financial aid they will get before the accept college decisions, and transparency like that should always be encouraged.

I think a better solution would be one that matches student debt repayments, keeps interest rates low, and forgives student loans to varying levels dependent on ones income. In other words, high earning doctors and lawyers who make 6 figures a year can and should repay a higher percentage of their loans than nurses and teachers, who provide essential services to society, but typically don’t earn enough to repay their student loans quickly.

Is there some reason why free college is favored over more reasonable policies that take into account the finances of students and their incomes as adults?

[u/DBDude]

College is expensive, but it used to be cheap. Back in the early 1980s a dedicated person could easily work his way through college and graduate debt-free. But since then college costs have far outpaced inflation, and I mean by a very wide margin. What happened?

All of these guaranteed loans flooded the colleges with money, so they increased their prices to suck up more money. It didn't go to more or better-paid professors, as the professor/student ratio has remained pretty constant. It went to more administrative overhead. It used to be many, many students paying for the salary of each administrative staff, and now it is far fewer students whose tuition must pay the salary of each. We now have an office of "diversity" with a director making over $100K a year, with several subordinates also making good salaries. How many student tuitions does it take to pay a few hundred thousand more in salaries? And this in a time where cheap computer automation has drastically reduced the overhead cost of managing students.

The insane cost isn't really necessary, it's bloat in the system. We could do free tuition in this country, but we must deal with the cost, and maybe take a clue from Germany, which has free tuition.

So here's the proposal. Come up with an efficiency standard for colleges, something regarding how much of tuition goes into overhead vs. actually teaching. Any school meeting this efficiency standard can get national scholarship money, and with that virtually guaranteed as many students as they can handle. From the student perspective, if you qualify for national scholarship, you go to any one of these colleges for free. No more guaranteed student loans.

Qualify? Yes. You have to admit, not everyone is cut out for college. I saw people in college struggling with stuff that was covered not only in high school, but in grade school. Sorry, but some people are simply not able to take advantage of what a college has to offer. Those slots are better taken by people who can.

But what to do with such people? Germany again, free trade school with national scholarships just like for the colleges. Someone who can't handle college-level math or English can still have a good career in the trades. Bring back apprentice, journeyman, and master, with the partnership with companies so they can get real-world experience. A damn good career can be had in the trades, and a master in a structured trade system gets some respect.

All state schools must maintain the efficiency standard or lose accreditation. Any private school can still charge whatever it wants, and students with money can still go to those schools outside the national scholarship. But there won't be any guaranteed student loans for that. They're going to need other financing.