Comments on: More Myopia from Kerry

by: Hal

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:59:59 +0000

Gee, I don’t know about anywhere else in the country, but in California, college tuition and fees are going way up. Community colleges are cutting classes because of the budget slashing.

All of these cuts and price hikes affect not only the ability to college, Steven. They also affect the drop out rate due to simply not being able to pay for it and eat and work at the same time.

Really, I guess there must not have been much cuts in education in all your budget problems out there in your state. But just a casual googling shows a different story

General fund spending for higher education has been significantly affected by state budget problems. As a result it is budgeted to decline 2.3 percent from FY 2025 spending levels. Because some states have boosted earmarked support for higher education, total spending for this category will decline by 2.0 percent.

Maybe life was all well in good back in the Clinton boom times, but in the Bush economy, higher education is getting the ax country wide.

And if you don’t think that drastically affects education, or the rate of graduation, then I think you’re bonkers. . .

by: John Lemon

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:59:59 +0000

Actually Chris, with a huge influx of incoming students there is a corresponding huge pressure from college administrators to free up seats in classrooms and hence pressure for grade inflation and “social promotion/graduation.” This is something that I’ve noticed here for at least five years now (and I’ve been “here” much longer than that).

by: Chris Lawrence

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:59:59 +0000

I’m confused… how do you increase the rate of graduation by increasing the pool of college attendees?

I can see how you would increase the number of graduates, but greater enrollment does not lead to a higher graduation rate (if anything, I suspect it leads to a decrease as more students get lost in the shuffle, unless you build new colleges–which people aren’t really doing any more).

by: Outside the Beltway

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:59:59 +0000

Beltway Traffic Jam
The Tuesday linkfest: Kevin Aylward celebrates one year of crap at Wizbang. Bill Hobbs displays Condi’s note to the Prez on soveriegnty. Steven Taylor is skeptical of Kerry’s plan to make more people graduate college. Spoons has a new genie…

by: John Lemon

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:59:59 +0000

If only presidents can increase college graduates, only college students will be president.

by: Charles Fenwick

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:59:59 +0000

Two things:

1.
“…if he’s elected president, 1 million more students will graduate from college during his first five years in office…”

So not only is his election a given (John Kerry President signs, etc), but so is his reelection?!

2. Increasing the number of students going into college does not necessarily increase the number of graduates. From the people who I’ve seen going to school despite numerous obstacles, I would have to say that people not going to school because of the financial obstacle are fairly unmotivated. And if they lack the motivation to earn the money to go to school then they are probably lacking the motivation to work through school. Similarly, from what I’ve observed, the average student who is paying for school out of their own pocket is a slight bit more motivated than the student who has it paid for by someone else. From this I would have to say that a plan that merely increases the number of incoming students would serve to increase the number of dropouts.

by: Jem

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:59:59 +0000

Though, if they can get Congress to agree, they can affect who pays for college…and by what rationale they “take” the money they give to favored groups.