Is Higher Education Worth the Price?

 Is Higher Education Worth the Price?

By: Destiny Portillo

      This week as a group we reflected upon the higher education pricing crisis.  Within the following three resources, "Are Colleges Worth the Price '' by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, "The New Liberal Arts' ' by Sanford Ungar, and the Kenyon Commencement Speech; a unique perspective is shared by all authors.  Although a majority of graduating students aspire to earn a degree by furthering their education by attending college, the skyrocketing prices make it harder on undergraduates.  

    In Hacker's and Dreifus' article "Are Colleges Worth the Price" the idea of paying for something and receiving less in return is brought to readers attention.  This article presents the fact that college students are gaining a significant amount of debt simply to gain access to higher education.  Although both authors believe that the price individuals are paying does not properly educate them for the real world and the workplaces.  Which allows the idea of institutions losing sight of their alleged goals to educate thousands, instead they seem to be not handling their earnings efficiently.  As well as enlightening readers on the idea of universities improving the way professors are financially paid and treated in order to positively influence their students.

    Within "The New Liberal Arts'' written by Ungar the idea that students should gain an education in liberal arts depicts common misconceptions tied to this field of education.  Liberal arts are commonly correlated to the notion of students choosing a poor path of education due to not finding work easily, but in reality all individuals who further their education have a hard time finding work after graduating.  Ungar also illustrates the advantages presented from choosing liberal arts as it is accessible to those part of low income families.  Also how liberal arts does not only provide education on art, but includes math and science.  Ungar allowed the truth of the outrageous pricing of higher education to come out when he notified readers that pricing goes beyond institutions; in fact this financial system stems from the government.  The government tends to not prioritize the idea of individuals having a higher education and provides lack of support to these institutions.

    The commencement speech allows the idea of furthering your education to be demonstrated in a positive light.  Wallace believes having individuals further their education in liberal arts allows our inflation of arrogance to deflate.  He believes individuals are better off learning to expand their horizons and form of thinking instead of believing we are naturally better or smarter than one another.  Having fathered an individual's education allows overcoming obstacles and challenges thrown at us in life to be handled more critically and logically.  While the documentary "The Ivory Tower" demonstrates both the pros and cons of furthered education.  Shedding light on the factor that students become in debt is like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and affect.  Hundreds of families are being affected by the uprising of tuition prices, especially low income.  The documentary then informs the audience of the plethora of paths to take when furthering their education.  It necessarily does not have to be well known universities or institutions, but it can also be community colleges as well.     

 Thus, with the numerous perspectives portrayed within each resource the accessibility of furthering one's education seems to be beneficial, but extensive on society.  Individuals earning a degree should not be causing extreme financial severity on students or families.  This being due to the fact that although loans help, they also create debt in the long run.  Which is why as a group we believe that higher education should be more attainable so students can achieve said degree without the stress and severe impact for their future and families.   

Sources:

Hacker, A., & Dreifus, C. (2022, June 6). Are colleges worth the price of admission? The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://www.chronicle.com/article/are-colleges-worth-the-price-of-admission/

Rossi, A. (2011). The Ivory Tower. Amazon. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.88a9f773-b58c-2680-50a3-1d8850f20d96?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb

Ungar, S. (n.d.). The New Liberal Arts - UNEPortfolio. Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://eng123c-s17.uneportfolio.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/199/2017/03/Ungar-The-New-Liberal-Arts.pdf

Wallace, D. (2021, November 4). "This is water" Kenyon Commencement Speech. James Clear. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches/this-is-water-by-david-foster-wallace