StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

What's Happening to Public Higher Education - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
This resarch paper "What's Happening to Public Higher Education" discusses the effects of a cut in the statehouse budget on students’ opportunities, an email survey was conducted. An open-ended questionnaire with 10 items, requiring responses was prepared and emailed to 15 student respondents…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.1% of users find it useful
Whats Happening to Public Higher Education
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "What's Happening to Public Higher Education"

Survey Research and Reflective essay Introduction In an attempt to determine the effects of a cut in the house budget on students’ opportunities, an email survey was conducted. An open ended questionnaire with 10 items, requiring qualitative responses was prepared and emailed to 15 student respondents. This method of survey was preferred since it is economical and relatively very fast compared to other conventional methods of survey. The items selected for the survey sought to determine among other things financing of education by college students, the utility of education to students, the cost of education, factors that influence college choice, factors that contribute to college dropouts and students opinions on the effects of cuts in the state budget to education. The survey was conducted on 11th October, 2012 by a student researcher. Q & A response 1. How old are you? -Most of the respondents who participated in this survey were adults between the ages of 18-25years enrolled in a four year program academic college. 2. What is your level of study? -Many of the respondents surveyed were in their third year of study (60%), while a significant 24% were in their third year of study with the remaining proportion covering freshmen students and second year students. 3. What is the cost of college education expenses? -The email response from the questionnaires indicated that the average cost of education, including tuition, room and board added up to $16,000 at least for all public state colleges while that of private colleges added up to $37,000 4. How do you finance your college education? -Nearly 10 out of the 15 students interviewed responded relying on loans to assist them with college financing costs. Equally, a third of the respondents relied on part time jobs to help cater for college costs, that was often complemented by parent’s support with 11 out of 15 getting regular support from their parents. A similar number also relies on college scholarship and financial aid to clear their college bills. -It therefore implied that many of the college students – 83%- required more than a single source of income to finance their education and to keep them in college. 5. From your sources of finance, do you always have enough to spend in college? -13 out 15 of all the participants interviewed reported being always concerned about having enough financial resources to utilize while still in college in providing for daily expenditures. Economizing was reported as a tradition employed for the college years, occasioned by tough economic times in the real world. 6. In your personal opinion, why do most students drop out of college? -In the age bracket of 18-25 sampled for this survey, many of the participants, 76% cited difficulties associated with money as the driving force for college drop out. Other issues as bad grades and peer influence also emerged as strong reasons for college drop out. 7. How do you feel about borrowing to finance your education? -Many of the college students surveyed reported feeling uncomfortable with borrowing to finance their education. This they say becomes unbearable as they are unable to pay the money borrowed within the appropriate period and as such loans accrue to longer periods of time attracting higher fines and interest rates that accrue. 8. Within the realities of hard economic times, is your college education justified? -Despite high costs associated with college education, high rates of unemployment, a confident 89% reported that college years are worth their investment and time. In high numbers, the participants expressed confidence with the type of education provided and their expectations for the future. With 14 out of 15 respondents suggesting to find a job after college, it becomes apparent that college education is treated as a commodity for satisfying and meeting one’s needs and expenses rather than acquiring knowledge and building on creative thinking. -Most therefore hope to get a job immediately they finish college but unaware while also quite sure that there exists high unemployment rate in the job market. 9. State ONE factor that affects your choice of college? -An overwhelming 90% responded that the cost of financing education directed their choice of college. “For some time I felt my chances of finding the right college within my financial abilities would never come.” Said Amanda Veronica, 21, law student. -Like 63% of college students surveyed, Amanda reported that it was worthwhile for an individual to be patient in choosing the right college so that one gets an equivalent of their aspirations from the education and that their value for money can be justified. -Another 32% suggested not having thought of that while deciding the right course to undertake. -A significant proportion also indicated transferring from one college to the next if one does not get exactly what they are looking for in school, with others pointing out that they added another major on top of their current educational career just to widen their job search and the possibility of finding jobs immediately after college. While most of the students were guided by financial implications in choosing the right college, they also suggested -87% - of wanting to finish college earlier than the four year designated program so that they may save on finances and take get into the job market fast enough. 10. How will cuts in the state house budget affect your education? -The participants targeted for this survey expressed mixed reactions to the state house’s cutting on budget and its implications on student education. 13 out of 15 respondents agreed that the effect directly affected their college graduation as more schools are shut down due to lack of finances to keep them running, more schools are raising tuition forcing many students out of the classrooms, classes are becoming overwhelmingly crowded with few facilities denying students opportunities for quality education, cancellation of extracurricular activities for students as well as undermining research carried out by institutions. “I am really worried” said Bowen when he heard that his financial aid towards his government scholarship had been slashed by a third, “How will I meet my future needs? I am somehow stuck in my life, will I ever graduate in time? Asserted the 24year old, third year nursing student. Reflective Essay from the Research Whether we agree to it or not, issues of financing for public education is a twin issue requiring both social and political attention. State budget cuts refer to the lowering of the spending rates of a state. It is the act of a state cutting down her expenditure on certain services formerly provided to her citizens at a subsidized cost or at no cost at all. For example, when a state cut down her expenditure on the provision of free elementary education for her children either partially to share the burden with parents or completely withdrawing this service from the state budget. To a large extent however, budget cutting is rather a trivial politically determined factor since it is the political class in any state that is concerned with the state’s budgetary allocations. At the same time, budget cuts bear far reaching social implications especially in determining the level of accessibility for certain important necessities, such as the acquisition of post secondary education among different social classes. On a personal perspective and point of view, I strongly feel that budget cuts have biased implications of a nation’s social development agenda. The cuts tend to limit the ability of the poor and the low income earning families to acquire college education especially when it places a bigger chunk of the burden on the poor parents. It however has minimal impact on the high income earning households who still are able to cover the financial increments for their children in colleges and universities Equally important, budget cuts on education funding by the state government have had serious negative impacts on certain groups of people in my community. The effects of this have seen some students, especially, those from lower income earning families’ drop out of school or defer their studies. This is as a result of their incapability to raise funds for the highly increased college fees. (Flores, Horn and Crisp) Consequently, it has often reduced the overall school completion rates among college and university students. To some, however, the cuts have had less profound effects on them as they are still able to afford the highly increased rates. The high income earning families in my community fall in this category and are the least affected by the funding cuts. There is therefore progressive disparity among students attending public colleges and those in private colleges. Within the realities of hard economic times and balancing in provision of social services to the public, solutions to cuts in education funding require an examination of a multiplicity of issues. These solutions are threefold and involve college productivity and performance oriented funding. Productivity and performance oriented funding strategy tends to link state fund allocations for public institutions with the respective institutional productivity and performance at the state level thus shifting the funding demand from the level of state inputs in education to the performance of the respective campus, this also helps in re-aligning the financial provision from the institutional requirements to state priorities. (Priest and St.John) As Ehrenberg reports, the other approach to solving this problem involves initiating a program to identify students with special needs in all public colleges and universities. This includes those who might be placed on the brink of college dropout or the college deferment due to the budgetary cuts on post secondary education funding and providing them with state grants. The approach will enable the needy students to complete their studies at the same time with those from able backgrounds. (Ehrenberg) Similarly, I also believe that a political problem requires a political solution. Dealing with socioeconomic, racial and ethnic inequalities associated with access to higher education needs proactive efforts by states in addressing all the issues associated with under-represented and under-educated among minorities in the state. Legislators have an obligation to examine the opportunities and threats in skill building and job creation for the future students. And budget cuts put these programs at great jeopardy. The issues presented above are executed on a contracted effort between the state government and other non- governmental organizations. These financial bodies in conjunction with the respective colleges identify needy students from these institutions and generate funds to support these students in funding their education. This has helped in reducing college dropouts among the needy students thereby raising the school completion rates among students in all public institutions. Reference Ehrenberg, Ronald G. Whats Happening to Public Higher Education?: The Shifting Financial Burden. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. Flores, S. M., C. L. Horn and G. Crisp. "Community colleges, public policy, and Latino student opportunity." New Directions for Community Colleges 133 (2006): 71-80. Priest, Douglas M. and Edward P. St.John. Privatization And Public Universities. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2006. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“State budget cuts influence on students Research Paper”, n.d.)
State budget cuts influence on students Research Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1604997-state-budget-cuts-influence-on-students
(State Budget Cuts Influence on Students Research Paper)
State Budget Cuts Influence on Students Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/history/1604997-state-budget-cuts-influence-on-students.
“State Budget Cuts Influence on Students Research Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1604997-state-budget-cuts-influence-on-students.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF What's Happening to Public Higher Education

Providing Community Service Through Occupation

Prior to being an administrator in the school district, Dudley was an industrial arts (wood shop) teacher and also taught driver's education in the 1970s.... For a period of time, he served as the special education director and often fills in as a substitute bus driver on regular morning and afternoon routes as well as to sports and school organization functions, acting not only as the driver but also the student supervisor.... Dudley also attends conferences and training seminars, is in charge of hiring along with the support of the district's board of education, attends the board of education meetings and conducts meetings, and was a member and also served as President of the Missouri Association of Rural education....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Public Relations Plan

For the teachers and staff, Faculty and staff meetings could be held monthly or as needed to keep everyone updated and to provide an outlet for discussion; for parents, Parent-Teacher conferences can be done regularly to bring them up to speed with their children's performance, any events in school to look out for, and to discuss better ways to help the children have the best education; Giving recognition to the achievers is also a form of feedback.... Faster access to information gives rise to a higher demand for it, and for schools, that means more feedback to the public, especially to the parents of their students....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Lowering Standards of American Public Education

This essay will evaluate the validity of the claim that the public education of America has been consistently lowering its standards along with expectations by taking into concern certain convincing arguments along with relevant evidences.... It will present the main points of the US education.... In the year 2001, ‘No Child Left' Act was established in the US with a view to develop the challenging, comprehensible and the rigorous scholar standards for matching up with global education standard....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The rising cost of college tuition

On the other sense, some analysts hold the view high cost of college education derail the prestige and the status of the United States higher education.... Name Institution Course Instructor Date The Rising Cost of College Tuition In the contemporary world, education is a basic need that is instrumental in defining the future of the society.... Every person, at given time attempt to acquire college education.... The idea behind the acquisition of the college education is to prepare an individual towards a given career....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Higher Education in Contemporary Society

This country needs higher education more than ever; we need to be smart citizens, we need to compete with international big business and we need to be able to adapt in such rapidly changing times. ... As globalization spreads, jobs are demanding more than primary education can offer; a key factor in obtaining a well paying career path is obtaining some form of higher education.... higher education is essential to the success of any entrepreneurial business especially in today's rapidly growing marketplace....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

An Inconvenient Truth

Many of those who feel passionately that global warming is in fact happening, have long since said that one of the many causes for the problem, lies within the everyday behaviors that so many people within the human race take for granted.... This essay "An Inconvenient Truth" opens the discussion about former Vice President Al Gore's film 'An Inconvenient Truth', whose purpose was to raise debate about global climate change....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Education in Rural France

This paper "education in Rural France" tells that in ''To Be and to Have'' the French documentarian Nicolas Philibert takes us, on tiptoe, into a small school in a rural part of the Auvergne to observe the lives of a dozen children (ranging in age from 4 to 11) and their teacher, Georges Lopez.... In France education remains rooted in tradition.... Etienne-Sur-Usson is full of drills, formal exercises, and dictations, that staple of French education in which a teacher recites a passage from literature and the students dutifully copy it down....
62 Pages (15500 words) Movie Review

The Key Aspects of Globalization of Educational Institutions

The paper "The Key Aspects of Globalization of Educational Institutions" is a decent example of an education essay.... The paper "The Key Aspects of Globalization of Educational Institutions" is a decent example of an education essay.... The paper "The Key Aspects of Globalization of Educational Institutions" is a decent example of an education essay....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us