Cost of college Essay

The Cost of College Our first topic is something that everyone in the class knows at least a little bit about, and which it\'s possible to have a variety of different theses about: the cost of college. It\'s also a current topic in state politics, and one that there are some good resources on. Possible Theses When thinking of possible claims to make about this topic, you can go in several different directions. Here are a few possibilities, just to get you started: The state should supply more (or less--either one would work) funds for higher education. This is a prescriptive thesis--one that makes a claim about how things should be. States that fund higher education at higher levels tend to have better economies than those that fund it at lower levels. This is a descriptive thesis--one that makes a claim about how things are. Tuition is too high for international students. This is a prescriptive thesis. Even though it does not have the word \"should\" in it, it is making a claim about how things should be, based on some idea of what is too high and what is right. Student debt causes a drag on future economic prospects for graduates. This is a descriptive thesis because it makes a claim about the facts, not about whether it\'s right or wrong. Experience as Evidence When writing about this topic, think about your own experience and what you\'ve heard from your friends, classmates, parents, teachers, and others about the cost of college. Are you working to pay for classes? That\'s a form of evidence--use it. How much are you paying for your tuition? That\'s a form of evidence. Do you have friends who have had to drop classes or drop out of school altogether so they can work and save money? Are you getting help from your parents? What have they told you about the cost of college? Have you ever heard from someone of an older generation about what it cost for them to go to school? What about the kind of financial aid that was available then? All of these and more are things you can include when supporting the claims that make up your thesis. Outside Evidence This is also a topic that is frequently in the news. Just before the start of Spring quarter Governor Inslee released his budget plan, which funds education in part by closing certain tax loopholes. This is a new direction for a Washington Governor to take, and is sure to cause lots of debate. Feel free to browse and use any of the sources listed below--but you don\'t have to. You can write a satisfactory paper using your own experience and what you know from friends and family. You can read the Seattle Times story on Inslee\'s budget proposal here. The liberal Budget and Policy Center has lots of information on this topic, including: A statement from the director in support of Inslee\'s proposal and urging more of the same An in-depth analysis of the proposal An in-depth look at tax breaks in Washington I searched for a similar set of documents from a conservative Washington state think tank, but could not find anything that directly corresponds. The best I could come up with was this press release from the Washington Policy Center, a free-market think tank, but it mostly just dings Governor Inslee for going back on a campaign promise not to raise taxes. You can also check out their statements on education policy, but they tend to be focused on K-12, and more about performance than funding. There is also a good article by Shoreline\'s own Professor Amy Kinsel, who teaches History here. It\'s a couple years old now, but the issues she describes are all too current. Two-Year Colleges Can't Absorb Further Cuts Without Turning Students Away Occupy Student Debt came out of Occupy Wall Street (they have since merged/morphed into Strike Debt, but the original principles are worth having a look at). They believe in fighting back against the mounting burden of debt that students and others are taking on. A different look at these issues can be found in \"Beyond One-Size-Fits-All College Dreams,\" which asks just how true it is that college is always a path to higher earnings. It provides some very interesting and useful data on alternative choices and pathways. On the topic of tuition and other education practices in other countries, I don\'t have a lot of items at my fingertips, but one article that got some attention recently is worth having a look at: \"What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland\'s School Success: The Scandinavian country is an education superpower because it values equality more than excellence\" (Atlantic Monthly, December 29, 2011). Finland gets a lot of attention because they always score well on international academic comparisons. If I\'m able I\'ll try to post some links to info on tuition in other countries. Thanks to Glenda Haynes in the 12:30 class for these two links: Trends in College Pricing 2012 \"Stop Subsidizing Soaring College Costs\" 2013 State Budget negotiations Professor Kinsel has just (Friday, April 4) posted this message to the faculty email list, which is directly relevant to our topic. Dear Colleagues: I heard about this State Senate proposal yesterday and didn\'t quite believe it. But it\'s real. Katherine Long, \"Higher Ed Funding Idea: Charge International Students More,\" SEATTLE TIMES, April 4, 2013,http://seattletimes(dot)com/html/localnews/2020713314_higheredbudgetxml.html. Here is the bill. Short and sweet but devastating for our international students and our internationalization efforts. It would impose a mandatory 20 percent surcharge on all international student tuition. http://apps(dot)leg(dot)wa(dot)gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5893.pdf The State Senate majority caucus\'s (comprised of 23 Republicans and 2 erstwhile Democrats) proposed operating budget includes some similarly sweet provisions that we in higher education must only hope do not survive in the State House. They include moving all part-time state employees out of PEBB health-care coverage into private insurance plans available through the health insurance exchanges that are due to be established under the federal Affordable Care Act; no funding for faculty COLAs or step increases; an illusory $11 M over the biennium in \"administrative efficiencies\" to be found by the SBCTC system (in other words an addition $11 M cut to the SBCTC system); and shifting $27 M over the biennium from enrollment-based funding to performance funding under the Student Achievement Initiative. The announcement of the State Senate proposal yesterday means that two of the three state budget pieces are in play. Democratic Gov. Jay Inlee\'s proposal last week relied on additional revenues achieved through eliminating some tax breaks and extending some temporary taxes to avoid the additional cuts to state spending included in the State Senate proposal. The governor\'s proposed budget does not cut higher education as much as the State Senate proposed budget. The next piece of the trio is the Democratic State House majority operating budget proposal that is likely to be released next week. MORE Instruction Here is a reminder of the essay instructions. Write an argumentative/persuasive essay on the assigned topic. Your essay should be between 750 and 1,000 words, and should have the following features. -A unified, coherent thesis, which all parts of the essay support -A logical organization that divides the essay into parts or sections, each part or section supporting a main claim that contributes to proving the thesis -Evidence that provides sufficient support for each claim (given the space limits you are working within), relevant to the claim it is supporting, and representative of its object. -Explanation of the evidence that shows why the evidence supports the claim, and how the claim relates to the thesis. -Correct mechanics (spelling, punctuation, and grammar) Typed; double-spaced; 10- or 12-point font, nothing fancy, no papers in all italics; first line of each paragraph indented; no extra space between paragraphs; 1-inch margins on all sides Stapled No title page, but a brief descriptive title centered above the first paragraph