Can Colleges become more efficient?

From Alfino: Why Is College So Expensive? [1]

Benefits of College Education

Benefits of a College Education

"10 Benefits of a College Education"

Nohel. "10 Benefits of a College Education." College to Careers. University of Phoenix, August 2010. Web. 23 Oct 2011. <http://www.collegetocareers.com/10-benefits-college-education-2/>.

Summary I found this article really helpful. It gives quick facts that argue the benefits of a college education. It talks about salary, careers, and competitions that come when trying to find a job and tells the benefits of having a college education. It also talks about personal matters such as learning how to provide for oneself and so on. This article is really helpful for trying to get a quick background knowledge of reasons why people go to college. It definitely argues for a college degree.

Terms used

On Google:

• Benefits of a College Education

Shannon Scola

Benefits of a College Degree in One Graph

Klein, Ezra. "The Benefits of a College Degree in One Graph." The Washington Post, 11 Aug 2011. Web. 23 Oct 2011. <http://wiki.gonzaga.edu/alfino/index.php?title=Can_Colleges_become_more_efficient%3F&action=edit&section=3>.

Summary I just thought this was an interesting graph giving the statistics of degrees during this state in the economy. It is just a little background information.

Terms Used

On Google:

• Benefits of a College Education

Shannon Scola

Is a College Degree Worthless?

Hough, Jack. "Is a College Degree Worthless?" MSN Personal Finance 7 Jan. 2010 <http://money.msn.com/college-savings/is-a-college-degree-worthless-smartmoney.aspx>.

Summary This article evaluates the worth of a college degree vs. the high cost of college tuition. The author says the student who earns a degree is highly unlikely to make up it's cost. The author uses an expample of a student who goes straight from high school to college against a student who works a few years before attending college, showing the person who works straight out of high school than goes to school is able to pay off loans faster and in the end is more sucessful.

Terms Used

Google

• Cost of College

Samantha Mastaler

Education Pays

Education Pays 2010. N.p., 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://trends.collegeboard.org/education_pays>

Summary

This is a College Board published document that has statistics, graphs, and information supporting evidence of the benefits of public and private higher education. It is broken down into the following topics; earnings, other economic benefits, health benefits, college enrollment, educational attainment, and geographic comparisons.

Terms Used

On Google

• Education Pay Off

Kasey Barghout

Pro/Cons of Higher Education

Is the increasing cost of college and university tuition pricing America's middle class out of higher education?. ProCon.org, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://2008election.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=1662>..

Summary This is an article from the website Procon.org. It gives the benefits and disadvantages for higher education. It’s interesting because it’s under the topic of the 2008 Elections so it brings politics into the mix, and gives opinions of high up political figures. It shows a curious perspective.

Terms Used

On Google

• Pros/Cons of Higher Education

Kasey Barghout

College is Worth the Cost

Holtom, Brooks. "College Is Worth the Cost - BusinessWeek." Businessweek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. Web. 06 Nov. 2011.<http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2010/03/college_is_worth_the_cost.html>.

Summary Brooks argues that the cost of college is worth it because the long term affects of a college degree outweigh the debt. The article talks about all the advantages students with degrees have compared to those without a college degree.

Terms Used

On Google

• A College degree is worth the cost

Shannon Scola

The College Question

Kennedy, Joyce Lain. "The College Question: Is a Degree Still Worth it at Today's Prices?" Seattle Times. Proquest Research Library. 21 Feb. 1993. Web. 12 Nov. 2011 <http://search.proquest.com/docview/384223287/13300DD4CFB47FAF248/2?accountid=1557>.

Summary This article is colum in the Seattle Times where a reader asks if a college degree is worth it. She got a liberal arts degree and is having trouble finding a job. The author says a college degree is worth it if it meets your intent.

Terms Used

Proquest

• Worth of a College Degree

Samantha Mastaler

Lack of Benefits of a College Degree

There are Not Many Benefits of a College Degree

Kawamoto, Dawn. "Financial Benefits of a College Education Are Smaller Thank You'd Think." Daily Finance, 24 May 2011. Web. 23 Oct 2011. <http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/05/24/financial-benefits-of-a-college-education-are-smaller-than-youd/>.

Summary This article argues the opposite side having a college degree. It states that there is not very much financial difference in careers from those who have college degrees and those that do not. Even in this economy there are still not enough people for jobs, such as plumbers, which does not require a college degree but does pay better than other jobs, and pays almost the same as the average job with a college degree.

Terms Used

On Google:

• Benefits of a College Degre

Shannon Scola

Job Market is Humbling

Rampell, Catherine. "Many with New Degree Find the Job Market Humbling." Nytimes.com. 18 May 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/economy/19grads.html?_r=2.

Summary The author talks about the difficulties being faced by recent college graduates, and how many of them are working in a job that they do not need a degree for, they are wondering what the point of college was.

Terms Used

On Google:

• Finding a Job After Graduation

Shannon Scola

Loans, Debt, and Cost

Tuition Jumps

State schools plan big tuition jumps --- major universities to increase fees by up to 25% as budget woes mount; extra charge for freshmen. (2002, Jun 20). Wall Street Journal, pp. D.1-D.1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/398969878?accountid=1557

Summary The Wall Street Journal Published this article explaining what state colleges and universities all over the country are resorting to due to the sudden lack of funding. As stated in the article, “ [universities] are planning tuition increase as high as 25% this coming school year – and they may have to cut enrollment, faculty positions and course offerings as well.” Due to this, many students who should be supported by their place of education are stabbed in the back and left with a few credits and no degree. There has obviously been a major shortage in educational funding and now it is up to the universities to determine how they can come up with money; many are even thinking about cutting health care. Most of the popular state schools have done the obvious, raise tuition, some of which have even added on an extra fee to the tuition of freshman for no reason.

Terms Used

Proquest:

• college tuition

Elizabeth Breen

Student loans

College Student Debt Grows. Is It Worth It? : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.npr.org/2011/05/16/136214779/college-student-debt-grows-is-it-worth-it>.

Summary This article talks about whether or not student loans are worth the risk, even if you are getting a college education. The author says that this debt is okay if the student is careful about it. It talks about making sure that you only borrow less than your expected salary for after you graduate, one also has to pick a study in which they will be able to get a job to pay back their loans as quickly as possible.

Terms Used

On Google:

• student loans, are they worth it

Elizabeth Breen

Student debt

Price, M. (2011, Oct 05). Big squeeze for grads: Student loans rise, job opportunities dim. The Christian Science Monitor, pp. n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/896370416?accountid=1557

Summary This article discusses student loans in relation to the jobs that people receive after graduation. It says that not only are tuition prices increasing where grants are not but also the job market is not looking good; 13% of grads between 20 and 24 are unemployed. These stats in combination with the current deficit are putting college education in jeopardy. Budget cuts are causing the government to increase interest on the loans, tighten qualifications for federal aid, and eliminate some tax credits on education. If we are not careful the cost of education could greatly impact our economy in more way than one.

Terms Used

ProQuest:

• student loans

Elizabeth Breen

Cost of a College Education

Vasquez, Micheal. "Cost of College Education not Paying Off for Many Graduates." The Miami Herold [Miami] 19 September 2011. Web. <http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/18/2398549/cost-of-a-college-education-not.html>.

Summary The argument in this article is that students should consider shorter, more career focused certificates, like and assoiciates degree instead of a bachlors. The author gives the reason that people with an associates degree go straight into a career, which has a higher starting salary. Being tailored to a certain career will serve better than a four year college degree. The author also uses the expample or how many waitreses and parking attendents hold a degree.

Terms Used

Google

• Cost of College

Samantha Mastaler

Understanding the Rise in Tuition

Clark, Ken. "Understanding the Skyrocketing Costs of a College Education." About.Com <http://collegesavings.about.com/od/understandingcollegecosts/a/risingcosts.htm>.

Summary The author in this article credits rising college tuition to inflation, demand, scholarships, and availability of classes. He explains how each category contributes to rising costs for college. He says the bottom line is that the cost of college is rising faster than any other area of life, and it will only continue to rise.

Terms Used

Google

• Cost of College

Samantha Mastaler

Toughening of Federal Policy

Mazzolini, Joan M. "Student Loan Defaults Prompt Toughening of Federal Policy." American Banker: 35. ProQuest Research Library. Nov 06 1987. Web. 27 Oct. 2011 <http://search.proquest.com/docview/249664726?accountid=1557>.

Summary This article talks about the amount of student loans that are defaulted every year and the affect that this can have on the loan policies and how they affect the government.

Terms Used

Proquest

• Student Loans

Shannon Scola

Federal Aid can't Keep up with College Tuition

Hong, Peter. "The Nation; Federal Aid can't Keep up with College Tuition." Los Angeles Times. Proquest Research Library. Oct 19 2005. Web. 12 Nov. 2011 <http://search.proquest.com/docview/422021155/abstract/13300D0BBE07E0F1AE9/1?accountid=1557>.

Summary This article on Proquest talks about how financial aid can no longer keep up with the cost of tuition. Enrollment and graduate rates now depend on family income.

Terms used

Proquest

• College Tuition

Samantha Mastaler

Tuition Increase

Sanchez, Rene. "5% College Tuition Still Outpacing 2% Inflation." The Washington Post. Proquest Research Library. Sept 25 1997. Web. 12 Nov. 2011 <http://search.proquest.com/docview/408334795/13300D7D2235E4F4CAD/3?accountid=1557>.

Summary This article talks about the cost of tuition still going up at a rate that exceeds tuition. This articles blames that rise in tuition on a sharp decline in aid to state schools. The high cost can also be because of a high strain to keep current technology in the classrooms.

Terms Used

Proquest

• College and Tuition

Samantha Mastaler

Alternative and State Schools

for-profit colleges

Ford, Andréa. "Going for Broke." Time 177.18 (2011): 44-46. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=111&sid=1aa9f885-2c24-4b2e-86c7-95d5f7cdf4f1%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=60410519

Summary Andrea Ford wrote this article entitled “Going for Broke” for Time magazine this past year. The article discusses the idea of for-profit colleges that are targeting unconventional students. At first glance these online colleges seem like a great idea but Ford writes about a young mother of four her was scammed by such a school.

Terms Used

Academic Search Complete:

• college alternatives

Elizabeth Breen

Making College more Accessible

Leblanc, Paul. "Make College Accessible to the Masses - and Jobless." The Christian Science Monitor: n/a. ProQuest. Sep 12 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2011 <http://search.proquest.com/docview/888603050?accountid=1557>.

Summary This article discusses alternatives to a traditional university education; claiming that it should not matter where students receive their education as long as they know the material; pushing taking classes online. The author stresses the importance of a college education even though it is harder to get now than ever. There are a few solutions mentioned in the article to avoid the growing inequalities among America’s youth such as cutting out core curriculum and pushing online learning. This was college will be more accessible and affordable to students.

Terms Used

ProQuest:

• students and a higher education

Elizabeth Breen

UC Schools

University Of California Admissions Data Released." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/19/university-of-california-_n_851121.html.

Summary This article talks about how students from California are having a harder time getting in to their top choice of school because they would not have to pay as much for tuition as students from out of state, even if they are better qualified.

Terms Used

Google

• California Acceptance Rates

Shannon Scola

State residents and state Universities

In State Student Cuts

Brodeur, Nicole. "Out-of-state Money Talks Big at UW." The Seattle Times [Seattle] 22 Mar. 2010. Web.

Summary This is an article from the Seattle Times that talks about what colleges, specifically the University of Washington have done because of recent budget cuts. This university as well as others have been limiting the number of in-state students accepted and taking more out-of-state because of the tuition difference. This makes it difficult for student who want to attend a university in state to save money because they are not getting in; leading to the cycle of student loans to attend other universities.

Terms Used

Seattle Times

• UW in state students

Elizabeth Breen

accepting more nonresidents

Vise, Daniel De. "State Colleges Accepting More Nonresidents to Keep up Revenue." The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR2009111301940.html

Summary . Every year the amount of in state students accepted by public universities dramatically increases posing many problems for in-state residents. We are in a recession and government funding is down forcing universities to look elsewhere for money. Mark Emmert, the president of the University of Washington stated, “Public universities survive on a combination of tuition revenue and state financial support. If one goes down, the other has to go up if you want to maintain your capacity.” Although Emmert’s statement makes logical sense, there has to be another way to come up with the funding.

Terms Used

Google

• universities accepting more out of state students

Elizabeth Breen

College Efficiency

Reconstructing education

COLVIN, RICHARD LEE. "Reconstructing Higher Education. (Cover story)." State Legislatures 37.6 (2011): 12-15. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=111&sid=1aa9f885-2c24-4b2e-86c7-95d5f7cdf4f1%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=61409972

Summary This article by Richard Colvin comes from the state legislature and describes the overall university education within the United States. It states that the U.S. used to been on top of the global education system providing an equal opportunity to all to receive a higher education. This included low tuitions and alternatives such as community colleges that made education more easily accessible; this is no longer how our education system is. Do to a series of events the United States is now ranked ten in the world. Not only is this because other countries have entered into the competition of elite education but also because the U.S. has not kept their education system as convenient and affordable as it once was. While other courtiers are developing it seems as though our students are suffering.

On Academic Search Complete

• College Efficiency

Elizabeth Breen

Tuition Down, College Efficiency Up

Keep Tuition Down by Making Colleges More Efficient. Public Agenda, 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://www.publicagenda.org/discussion-guides/keep-tuition-down-making-colleges-more-efficient>.

Summary This website from the Public Agenda, gives ideas about what should be done about college efficiency, then it gives arguments for this approach and arguments against the approach. It then gives you a place to compare other perspectives.

Terms Used

On Google

• College Efficiency

Kasey Barghout

Public Agenda

"Keep Tuition down by Making Colleges More Efficient | Public Agenda." Public Agenda. 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://www.publicagenda.org/discussion-guides/keep-tuition-down-making-colleges-more-efficient>.

Summary Public Agenda is, "an innovative public opinion research and public engagement organization, works to strengthen our democracy's capacity to tackle tough public policy issues." They want to close the gap between the politicians opinions and the public opinions and make sure the public's views are represented in decision making. In this article their goal is to keep tuition down by making colleges more efficient by becoming more competitive and making better use of techniques ssuch as distance learning to reach more students at lower costs. I think this site is very useful because it also offers solutions, arguments for, and arguments against, and they are simply public opinions. Because they are public opinions however, the authoritativeness is slim, but I think it just shapes the picture for us nicely.

Terms used

On Google:

• Can colleges become more efficient

Kelley Boone

STUDENT EFFICIENCY

A STUDY ON THE BEHAVIOR AND PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THE DETERMINANTS OF GPA

Nelson, Rebecca. "Student Efficiency: A Study on the Behavior and Productive Efficiency of College Students and the Determinants of GPA." Issues in Political Economy. Mary Washington College, August 2003. Web. 21 Oct 2011. <http://org.elon.edu/ipe/nelson%20FINAL.pdf>.

Summary This is a study done on the behavior and productive efficiency of college students and the determinants of GPA. It discusses the difference between how students behave in regards to just caring about their grades or actually learning the material. It says GPA is often the determinate when getting a job after college and it frustrates the teachers who don't care about giving grades but simply care that the students learn and know the material. Teachers get frustrated when the students are too focused on their grades. Students see college simply as a means to an end, the key to a good paying job. There are many variables that affect students performance in college. They surveyed students and collected information to study and concluded that students become more efficient the older they get in actions that affect their GPA. This is one study done at one college using 126 students. I think it is rather authoritative in the sense that it is a study and not opinion based.

Terms used

On Google:

• Can colleges become more efficient

Kelley Boone

Improved Efficiency in Colleges, and Other Pipe Dreams

Luzer, Daniel. "Improved Efficiency in Colleges, and Other Pipe Dreams by Daniel Luzer | Washington Monthly." The Washington Monthly. 15 Nov. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/improved_efficiency_in_college.php>.

Summary This is an article from a newspaper based in Washington DC. They say their goal is to report problems with the government and solutions to the issues. It seems very unbiased. This article analyzes a report done about how the United States can hold its position in the global economy and preserve the living standards of its citizens. The key it says is to have more college graduates each year, and still spend less and less money on higher education. The solution as to how to go about this improving the effectiveness of college in a series of five steps. I think this article is very useful to us as it appears unbiased and in the publics best interest. The link on the article for the Report it mentions doesn't not work anymore unfortunately.

Terms used

On Google:

• Can colleges become more efficient

Kelley Boone

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