Free College “Sounds” Terrific
It sounds terrific, but there are definite problems.
The American Conservative reports.
The Problem With Free College
Free college sounds terrific. Bernie Sanders has made it a central theme of his campaign. It was once the norm at our best public universities. They still do it in Germany and other European countries. Why not make American great again by eliminating increasingly burdensome tuition and other fees?
There are a number of arguments against free college. Among other concerns, it would subsidize families that can afford to pay and threaten institutional diversity. Perhaps the most serious problem, though, is that Americans don’t actually want the kind of stripped-down higher education that could be provided at public expense.
The European comparison is useful. A Washington Post piece recently praised Germany for allowing students from around the world to enroll at its universities without charge. What German universities offer in exchange was not discussed. More specifically, the piece didn’t mention the services German universities usually don’t provide. Here is a partial list:
Comments
We have essentially free college in the California community colleges (extremely nominal fees).
You get some good classes and some good students, but a lot of slackers who are just marking time so they can stay out of the job market.
From the linked article at “The American Conservative”:
“That doesn’t mean that German universities are a bad deal. On the contrary, they’re excellent for academically prepared, emotionally mature students. But relatively few American students would flourish on the same terms.”
One might suggest this points out that parenting and K-12 education in the U.S. is a greater problem than college costs.