According to the Editorial Board of the "Austin American-Statesman" article, "Is There a Degree of Value at Bargain Rates?," dated April 27, 2011, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is looking into Rick Perry's challenge to a four year college degree that costs $10,000 including books.
A strong academically inclined student could look for ways to do things on the cheap. For example, a four degree requires a minimum of 120 hours or 40 3-hour courses. A student in the last two years of high school could take two College Early Start courses offered by Austin Community College and their high school each semester. Tuition is free, but students are responsible for the purchase of their textbooks. Potentially, this could beeight courses. Then the student could take AP or CLEP tests to earn an additional 30 hours of credit(some colleges limit test credit to 30 hours). I figure that is six CLEP tests at $77 each making a total of $462 in test fees. With the textbooks from College Early Start and the CLEP test fees, the first two years is about $2000.
That leaves $8000 for the last two years. If the student lives in Austin, they could save on room and board by going to The University of Texas. UT's graduation policy is that students must have 60 hours in residence to graduate. According to UT's website, tuition varies according to the school and degree that one is seeking. On the low end is tuition at the liberal arts school which ranges from $8520-$9808 a year for a full-time student who is taking at least 12 hours each semester. UT's tuition for one year more than blows the $8000 budget for two years. At best, it looks like this degree will cost about $25,000 including the textbooks.
The editorial mentioned credit for prior learning. This is for students who have been out in the work world for some years who have college level training and skills. Credit for prior learning takes paper writing to explain what was learned and documentation to back it up. There are limits on the number of hours that one can earn credit for prior learning and not many universities offer this. Certainly no one earns a diploma wholly based on this unless it is from a diploma mill.
In an interview, President of South Texas College Shirley Reed brought up the idea of reducing the number of hours in degree programs and questioned whether employers thought the student would have the competencies for which they were looking. I think the idea of reducing the number of hours in degree programs should be thought through very carefully. If the numbers were reduced lower than the minimum 120 hours, this could jeopardize the degree's validity. And if this was interpreted to mean less lecture hours for the same academic credit, then the accreditation of the university could be at stake.
Throughout the editorial, the editors are doubtful that a $10,000 four year college degree can be a reality. And as I reflect on how to make a $10,000 price tag a possibility, I do not think it is realistic. Students will have to strategize on how to make attending college a reality ("30 Ways to Reduce College Costs," Student Aid on the Web), and I hope the cut-backs on financial aid will be minimal.
No comments:
Post a Comment