Posted on 10/31/2013 9:29:51 AM PDT by MichCapCon
Michigan, much like the nation as a whole, is suffering the consequences of a higher education bubble.
Like other bubbles, prices (tuition fees) have reached sky-high levels leading “investors” (students) to question whether the investment is worthwhile. As is true nationally, enrollments are starting to fall at some of the public four-year institutions. Total student loan debt recently topped $1 trillion and has been increasing faster than the rate of health care costs.
Many students are failing to graduate. Looking at five metro Detroit area public institutions — University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University, University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Oakland University — and the six-year graduation rate is below 50 percent at all of them except the flagship U-M campus. The six-year rate nationally is at about 55 percent.
Even worse, a huge proportion of those who do graduate get jobs where they are effectively “underemployed.” Many take on relatively low-paying jobs not requiring a college degree. There are more retail sales clerks with bachelor’s degrees than there are soldiers in the U.S. Army.
This problem is not primarily because of the country’s mediocre economic performance in recent years. The underemployment problem has been brewing for years, even before the financial crisis, and will not end even if and when we return to labor market policies favoring employment (such as Michigan’s recently adopted right-to-work law). There are simply too many students graduating from college relative to the number of high-paying positions in the managerial, technical and professional fields. This even extends to some professional programs, most notably law.
Another issue facing Michigan higher education: the pool of state residents ages 18 to 22 is undergoing a long-term decline that ultimately will exceed 25 percent. Most universities have maintained enrollments by increasing out-of-state admissions or depending more on older students, but is it in Michigan’s interest, for example, to charge Ohio residents the same tuition as Michigan residents, as is the case at Eastern Michigan?
We may be overinvested in higher education, if the job market imbalance is any indication.
Does Michigan have too many state universities? It has more than it’s more populous neighbor to the south, Ohio. Couldn’t we merge or eliminate one or two of those schools with mediocre performance in the metro Detroit area, for example? Would some school consolidation save major amounts of money?
Eastern Michigan loses roughly $20 million annually on intercollegiate athletics, and its football stadium is just a few miles from U-M's "Big House."
Universities claim they've experienced a large decline in state aid over the past decade or so. But should money be given to schools at all? Why not give funds to low- and middle-income students (more to the very poor) to attend college, and let the schools compete for the students? This could be similar to Michigan's K-12 model, whereby state aid follows the student. At minimum, state funding should be tied to more rigorous performance standards.
To be sure, some of the bigger problems require federal action: the $180 billion federal student financial aid system, for example, is dysfunctional, Byzantine and inefficient, and has contributed to the tuition price explosion. Despite a massive increase in the amount of federal student aid, fewer students from low-income families are earning college degrees. In 1970, 12 percent of college graduates came from families in the bottom quarter of earners, yet today that is just 7 percent.
Michigan can and must take steps to make higher education work better.
Michigan has too many public funded colleges.
Why should anybody get money from the government (I.e., taxpayer money) to attend university simply because they were lucky enough to be born poor? What ever happened to awarding achievement?
Because of the decline in the number of college-age Americans, universities are increasingly focusing on attracting foreign students. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future, most college students in the US will be non-citizens.
Universities need to dial back on the size of their student body - 50,000 students is quite a lot for one university! They should also cut back on worthless programs - gender studies, black studies, etc. They need to re-focus on education. If students have time to join "Occupy Wall Street," then they shouldn't be enrolled in college.
Our local community college is busy transitioning into another 4 year college with a primary goal of soaking up grant and student loan money. In return we get a college unaffordable to local people without loans grants or scholarships.
I have several major schools within 90 minutes of here and don’t even have to leave the state. Eastern Mi, Western Mi, Wayne state, UofM, MSU, Ferris, as well as places like Hillsdale college and Spring Arbor college
Wow, that’ going the wrong way, if you accept the employment trend data...
Bid Ed is a funding mechanism for Democrats.
Make unlimited taxpayer subsidized loans available to students.
Students borrow money and pay outsized tuition to schools.
Schools pay outsized salaries to profs and admins.
Prof and admins donate heavily to Democrats.
Big Ed won’t go away easily...
Some of the courses are OK like automotive technology but they are rushing ahead to produce the next generation of non producers with things like Alternative energy.
http://www.jccmi.edu/Department/
Hey the Solyndras of the future gonna need trained help!
Lots of classes aimed at pumping up Obamacare.
Two of my three kids and two of my nephews and nieces have college degrees. Two are working in restaurants, one in a warehouse, and one as an accounts payable clerk. None are working in anything related to their degree. All are still paying off their college debt. Obama’s idea to get “everyone” in college is just plain nuts. In recent years the media have been trying to discredit on-line or private vocational schools because they don’t always lead to the promised jobs, but they rarely seem to apply that same critique to public colleges and universities.
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