Category: College Education

Opportunity cost is the sacrifice one has to make so that he or she can get the best alternative possible. In life, there are choices to make. The choices have consequences.

A student does not choose to go to college because there is nothing else to do. There are very many things that the student could have done. For instance, going to school would deny the student the opportunity to work (Beach 370). It also denies him or her the opportunity to just rest. Perhaps the student could have used the school fees to invest in a business that would make him or her successful. The student could also opt for a mentor in the career he wants to pursue in life.

However, the opportunity cost is not the sum of all the other things the student would have done. Some of the things like resting would not replace the alternative benefit. Opportunity cost also deals with the benefit that one would have derived from the alternative action (Arora and Nandkumar 250).

The opportunity cost of spending an evening revising for an economics exam is watching a movie. It can also be resting as one prepares for the exam. During the evening one could also have read a novel or written a book. One could also revise for a different paper other than economics.

For one to make a sensible decision about what to do that evening, it would be prudent to understand the time table of the exam. Maybe the economics exam would be several days away or the following day. Another critical issue would be to know the reason for passing the economics exam (Greenwood and Holt 178). The question in the student’s mind would be to know if that was one’s choice of career in life. It would also be prudent for the student to know if what he or she is foregoing is equally as important as passing the economics exam.

In making the list for the opportunity cost for higher education, food is not part of it because the student would eat whether in school or at home. The food budget cannot be an alternative to education. It could be an alternative to fasting for the spiritual benefit or health condition. Food benefits the body but education benefits someone psychologically, socially, and economically (Shoup 412).

The cost of clothing should not be part of the list of opportunity costs. Whether the student attends school or not, he or she will still need those clothing (Horngren, Datar, and Rajan 501). The student can buy clothes and still go to school. The benefit that the student would derive from education cannot be similar or opposite to that of buying or not buying clothes.

Higher education will improve and expand the student’s thoughts about the career he or she has chosen. It will also enable him or her to become employable and knowledgeable about the endeavor he or she will pursue in life. Higher education will also enable the student to afford what he or she sacrificed for education. Higher education gives one status in the society (Chodorow-Reich and Karabarbounis 330).

Opportunity cost to one attending higher education is different from the opportunity costs to society as a whole. The individual benefits would enable the student to pursue personal ambition. The society would expect community service. The community would also benefit because the student would concentrate on learning and not other harmful behaviors like becoming a drug addict. One similarity is that the individual status affects the society. As education builds an individual’s capacity, it also builds community capacity.

Works Cited

Arora, Ashish and Anand Nandkumar. Cash-Out or Flame-Out! Opportunity Cost and Entrepreneurial Strategy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009. Print.

Beach, J. M. Gateway to Opportunity?: A History of the Community College in the United States. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Pub., 2010. Print.

Chodorow-Reich, Gabriel and Loukas Karabarbounis. The Cyclicality of the Opportunity Cost of Employment. Cambridge, Massachusetts: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013. Print.

Greenwood, Daphne T. and Richard P. F. Holt. Local Economic Development in the 21st Century. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2010. Print.

Horngren, Charles T, Srikant M Datar, and Madhav V Rajan. Cost Accounting. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.

Shoup, Donald C. The High Cost of Free Parking. Chicago, Illinois: Planners Press, American Planning Association, 2011. Print.

College tuition is becoming more and more expensive as funding state programs are either drastically reduced or altogether abolished. Since the opportunities for free high-quality college education become limited, the millennial generation has fewer chances for getting it (Davidson et al., 2018). With the costs of college education constantly rising, the millennial generation is set up for failure compared to previous generations.

The college education helps students to acquire knowledge and skills necessary in their future professional life and career. The constant growth in college fees that increase at rates disproportional to inflation poses a challenge for those who want to get a high quality education. Indeed, as seen from Figure One, tuition fees increased by about 25% in ten years while inflation for the same period of time was about 10 to 15 per cent (Figure 1). The disproportional growth threatens to strip many talented milletmeals and z-generation young people of all opportunities to get a high-quality education.

America’s the world’s leading country in tuition fees students pay for their education (Figure 2). While it testifies to the unparallel quality of American educational systems that attracts hundreds of people from abroad, domestic students face difficulties paying large fees. This results in the situation when more and more adults are admitted to colleges since they cannot afford the education at an earlier age (Kasworm, 2020). Grant and entry support programs should be enhanced to embrace larger numbers of domestic students who cannot afford the costs of education (Johnson, 2019). Moreover, public control of the colleges’ spending should be instituted so that fees are not purposefully overestimated.

If left unchecked, tuition fees are going to grow out of all proportion with the increase in people’ wages, resulting in a situation where the most talented youths are left out of opportunities to embark on a career fit to their abilities and aspirations.

It is high time we raised our voices against unprecedented growth in college tuition fees, making governmental bodies pay attention to this problem. Once we are heard, college fees can be reduced to help millions of millennials and z-generation youths embark on careers they envisage.

References

Davidson, C. T., Ashby-King, D. T., & Sciulli, L. J. (2018). The higher education funding revolution: An exploration of statewide community college “free tuition” programs.Community College Journal of Research and Practice. Web.

Johnson, D. M. (2019). Tuition crisis: The costs and financing of public higher education. In The Uncertain Future of American Public Higher Education (pp. 11-25). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Ferri, F., Grifoni, P., & Guzzo, T. (2020).

Kasworm, C. (2020). Adult Workers as Learners in the USA Higher Education Landscape. In Inequality, innovation and reform in higher education (pp. 221-235). Springer, Cham.

In his speech, David Ray discusses various aspects of college education in America. The speaker claims that currently, college education does not guarantee successful employment and high income. However, the demand for college education is increasing. Moreover, nowadays’ students spend significantly less time studying than previous generations, as they are forced to work to pay for their education. Ray’s key message is that the business model is inefficient for college. An education institution should correspond not to a business model but a university one (TEDx Talks 00:17:55-00:18:03). Ray believes that students should study harder and that most staff should be academics, not administrators.

In my opinion, getting a good, well-paid job these days is possible without a degree. However, college education is necessary to expand personal horizons and increase the overall level of erudition. College education primarily teaches not a specialty but where to find information and how to process it to learn a specialty on your own. This is one of the critical skills for successfully adapting to changing living conditions. Thus, the purpose of the college is to teach people how to learn. First, college education is not a diploma but acquired knowledge.

I expect that mastering this class will help me learn how to work with information, analyze and process it. As for the assessment, of course, it depends on my personal perseverance. I will do my best to get as much valuable knowledge as possible and be appreciated perfectly. Moreover, an equally important aspect is the interaction with the teacher. I expect the instructor to be open to each student’s ideas, even if it differs from a personal position. Feedback is also essential to point students in the right direction and help them acquire the necessary skills, abilities, and knowledge. It is assumed that this can be achieved through personal consultations, group meetings, and online communication.

In my opinion, the critical aspect that influences the learning outcomes is my personal interest in learning. I note that it is high, and I am ready to work tirelessly. In turn, I expect the teacher to play a mentoring role. This assumes that you will guide and correct my activities. I do not have preexisting knowledge and experience with the subject matter; thus, I am open to new ideas. I believe that college is an opportunity to move to a different, higher level of development and prove myself in new areas of activity.

Work Cited

“What is a college education? David Ray at TEDxOU.” YouTube, uploaded by TEDx Talks, 2014.

College tuition is a very important issue to many people because it exposes graduates to many opportunities in life. There has been a lot of debate in the country on whether college tuition needs to be increased or reduced. This paper will discuss how students in the country will benefit from a reduction in college tuition fees.

There have been a lot of arguments in the country regarding the high cost of college tuition. The demand for quality education continues to increase because a lot of students who graduate from high schools wish to continue their studies in colleges. Many universities in the country raise their fees annually and this has made college education in the US very expensive for some students. Therefore, it is unfair to raise college tuition fees because this denies students who are intellectually gifted an opportunity to study.

Many students aspire to expand their future career prospects by getting college education. They go to college in order to acquire new skills for careers they choose after their studies. Students who have strong intellect need to be given an opportunity to advance their knowledge in professional disciplines they are interested in.

The government should play its role by putting in place favorable policies which make it easier for more students in the country to access college education. This will improve the standards of education and will make it possible for more students to fulfill their personal and professional dreams. All bright students should have an equal opportunity to attend colleges regardless of their social status, race, physical appearance or age (Weissman).

The government needs to revise policies which make it difficult for bright college students to gain admission in top universities due to financial problems. This will ensure they have access to opportunities which help unlock their potential. Students who have just finished high school have dreams and ambitions which they aspire to achieve. Some of these students have talents in different areas which need to be harnessed for the benefit of society.

The government needs to make it easy for them to attend colleges by encouraging universities to lower their tuition fees. This approach will encourage more students to work hard in their studies, which improves educational standards in the country (Smart and Paulsen 77). If college tuition is lowered, more students will be willing to go to university and this will result in an increase in enrollment rates in many universities.

Reduction in college fees will help reduce income gaps in the country. It is estimated that college graduates have higher incomes compared to other workers who have never got an opportunity to attend college. Therefore, reduction in tuition fees charged on students will create uniformity in employment patterns across the country. The US government needs to change its policies on education to enable more students to attend college.

This will make the economy to benefit from a qualified pool of workers who have skills in different disciplines. Increased access to education opportunities will encourage more people to acquire more knowledge, which will improve their economic status. This will reduce the income gap between college graduates and other workers who have less qualification (Smart and Paulsen 77). If enrollment rates are increased, there will be more people willing to go back to school and this will have a positive impact on the economy.

The U.S. economy is negatively affected by large numbers of college graduates who cannot pay their student loans. College students borrow student loans which make them have large debt burdens after they finish their courses.

This situation needs to be changed to ensure college students have less debt after finishing their studies. Universities in the country have been increasing their tuition fees rapidly in the last ten years. This has made it difficult for most parents and students to afford high college fees charged by various institutions of higher learning.

Students who are charged exorbitant tuition fees end up taking loans at high interest rates. This situation makes more students get trapped into a life full of debts, after their graduation from college (Toby 81). Therefore, it is necessary for the government to change financial policies which make students incur a lot of debts after school. This will ensure that students are not made to pay high tuition fees which hinder them from actualizing their dreams.

Many colleges spend more money on activities which do not contribute positively to the quality of education they offer. They need to be advised to be more efficient in their expenditure to ensure they focus more on providing quality education to their students. In addition to that, the government needs to come up with a solution that helps universities lower their tuition fees.

This will encourage more students to enroll in different programs and this will improve access to higher education in the country. The government needs to offer financial incentives to universities which give bright students a chance to study affordable degree programs (Toby 88). This will help such universities improve the quality of education they offer their students, which will lead to positive educational outcomes.

Students should be given more information on flexible financing options to help them make good decisions about their future. Loan repayment systems need to be changed to reduce debts incurred by students after finishing college. Students should be given repayment options which are not very punitive to encourage them to take education loans (Morgan).

The government needs to assist bright needy students to attend college by offering them financial grants. These grants will help more students to acquire vital skills which will help them in their future careers. Students who excel in their studies after the first year of college should be given more financial assistance to encourage them to study.

An increase in college tuition fees offers several benefits to universities and other institutions of higher learning. Some educational programs are very expensive to teach and they require students to pay more to access quality facilities. Many universities have to incur a lot of expenses to sustain technical programs and it is only fair for them to pass on this cost to students (Smart and Paulsen 86).

High college tuition fees also discourages students who do not satisfy the required criteria from applying for educational grants. This helps colleges to channel their resources to high quality programs which help learners acquire adequate skills to make them more competitive in their careers.

In conclusion, college tuition needs to be made more accessible to all in the country. The government needs to formulate effective policies to make university education more accessible. This will improve enrollment rates in different universities across the country.

Works Cited

Morgan, Julie Margetta. “Making College More Affordable.” Center For American Progress 2 Feb. 2012. Web.

Weissman, Jordan. “How Washington Could Make College Tuition Free.” The Atlantic News 8 Mar. 2013. Web.

Toby, Jackson.The Lowering of Higher Education in America: Why Student Loans Should be Based on Credit Worthiness. Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 2012. Print.

Smart, John C. and Michael B. Paulsen. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. New York: Springer, 2011. Print.

Utilitarianism is a part of ethics, according to which the moral value of behavior or deed is determined by its utility. The usefulness of action means the integral pleasure or happiness received by all affected parties during the duration of the consequences of the action (Portmore, 2020). Utilitarianism belongs to the consequential group of ethical theories since it judges an act not by itself, but by its results. Utilitarianism is based on hedonism or eudemonism. These are axiological teachings, according to which the highest value is pleasure or happiness. Rigorous definitions of pleasure and happiness remain a challenge for the time being. Another problematic question is whether these concepts are identical (Blackie, 2019). Modern utilitarians tend to identify them. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the value of education in utilitarianism and to answer the question of whether a utilitarian can argue that going to college is morally wrong.

The value of modern education is in question, and many young people are reluctant to it. They understand that the practical skills gained during the work can be much more useful than extensive basic knowledge of various topics. As a result, they are eager to find an interesting job and get all the necessary knowledge there. In addition, the experience is much more important to many modern employers than having a diploma. The document may not reflect the student’s real skills, whereas reviews from previous employers describe them in detail. Consequently, the question of the need for study is indeed controversial.

Thus, this issue becomes controversial for the utilitarian as well. On the one hand, education has been one of the key values ​​of people from high society for several centuries. It allows people to form certain views of the world, have opportunities for professional development, and just be interesting interlocutors. There is also a stereotype that the more people know, the more they can achieve. In addition, the college does not offer students exceptional knowledge and overly complex material. On the contrary, college education involves learning basic subjects that can indeed come in handy in everyday life, and these studies are available to most. People do not spend too much effort on college education, so it cannot be said that it harms them or spoils their lives.

On the other hand, the quality of modern studies is not always high enough to be beneficial. Not all teachers can convince students of the importance of their subjects and convey the material clearly. Unfortunately, many people go into this profession due to a lack of choice or desire to earn money. Moreover, students themselves are often not interested in studies and go to college only under the guidance of their parents. They do not know where they want to develop professionally, and therefore cannot make an informed choice of an educational institution. Unfortunately, this is why do not pay due attention to their studies. They look for all the information they need on the Internet and simply pass it through themselves, while nothing useful remains inside. In other words, college can be a waste of time for many, especially when students themselves are not sure what they need.

Hence, in this situation, utilitarians cannot accurately determine whether going to college might be morally wrong. In other words, they do not know if education is beneficial since it is individual in each case. For some, studies can be the starting point for rapid development and a brilliant career. In this case, utilitarians can confidently assert that college education is morally correct and even necessary. For other people, however, going to college can be a waste of time, money, and effort. Students will not learn anything new there because they simply do not want to, and they will not get any benefit. In this case, college education becomes morally wrong from the utilitarians’ point of view.

Regardless, even if students think they are wasting time in college, they receive a degree. In addition, they gain useful skills, albeit not related to fundamental knowledge. For example, they learn to find information in all available sources and process it according to assigned tasks. They learn to plan and adhere to deadlines because these tasks need to be done and delivered on time. Thus, even seemingly meaningless education can be of significant benefit to students. They can use their education papers to find work and be more successful in the workplace due to certain skills.

Thus, utilitarians can hardly say that education is morally wrong. Undoubtedly, sometimes it can be a burden for students, and the received documents seem useless. Nevertheless, the educational path passed and its results can be useful in one way or another. Hence, they become morally correct from a utilitarian point of view. Undoubtedly, there are situations where college education becomes truly meaningless for the student: for instance, when they studied humanities, and then continued the family business of repairing cars. In other words, utilitarians can call college education morally wrong. However, such situations are quite rare, therefore, this statement is controversial and not widespread.

References

Blackie, J. S. (2019). Four phases of morals: Socrates, Aristotle, Christianity, Utilitarianism. Good Press.

Portmore, D. W. (2020). The Oxford handbook of consequentialism. Oxford University Press.