CCAP in the News: December 1, 2009

Richard Vedder was one of the featured experts in a NY Times Room for Debate forum:

Since most of the financial benefits of college go to the student, he or she should pay a large portion of college costs. Even with the large tuition increase, University of California fees are well below those of many other prestigious flagship public universities.
Most attendees come from moderately to very prosperous families that can shoulder this extra burden. Lower income students are largely protected by U.C. financial aid policies and by an increasingly generous federal student assistance program.
However, all students and their parents, not to mention taxpayers, have a right to know why the vast majority of the U.C. budget goes for non-instructional expenses, why teaching loads are so low, and why there is a bloated central administrative bureaucracy. If they want the students to pay more, the University of California administration should be more fully accountable to those who are increasingly paying the bills.

The Jeff Ward Show on KLBJ News Radio cited Richard Vedder:

With the rising costs of college and the falling number of available jobs, some scholars are questioning whether America’s youth should be put on a conveyor belt directly from high school to a four-year college.
Richard K. Vedder…said he thinks college is a waste of time and money for most students. Vedder said not everyone who goes to college is qualified, and some of the jobs in highest demand do not require a four-year degree.

… most students at UT do belong in college…the majority of students nationwide are not prepared for a meaningful college experience. Many students do not gain much from the college experience or spend more than four years earning their bachelor’s degree, which can be very costly

The Press of Atlantic City’s Diane D’Amico quoted Andrew Gillen and Daniel L. Bennett in an article on institutional merit aid.

Gillen:

If they can recruit better students, they can move up a couple of spots in the U.S. News rankings… They can raise tuition $200, and give more scholarships.

Bennett:

They are trying to attract top students by giving price discounts… But it is being subsidized by the less academically talented.

the issue deserves public debate, especially if public money is being used to subsidize merit scholarships… It doesn’t help make the college more affordable…And it is a squeeze on the middle class who make too much for need-based aid, but don’t have the high academics to get the merit scholarships.

The Yorktown Patriot cited Daniel L. Bennett’s recent blog about the decision by Northeastern University to drop its football program.