Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Free University Nirvana?
American Thinker ^ | 06/05/2019 | Brian Tomlinson

Posted on 06/05/2019 8:15:12 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Many of our left-wing radical politicians, a.k.a., snake oil salesmen, are pitching free university education for all. And it's not surprising: Teachers’ unions and university administrators might salivate at the thought. High school students about to embark on post-secondary education might think it is a wonderful idea. After all, Hollywood has portrayed the university experience as one of a continuous four-year party of sex, drinking, drugs and debauchery.

Would an aspiring student need to take those annoying SAT and ACT college entrance exams if universities were tuition-free? Government would now control the university system.

Who decides who would go to which university? Would the structure be similar to secondary education? Would students be relegated to universities in their area only? Would private universities exist? What about universities such as Harvard? Would the endowments continue to pour in from alumni or industry?

Would everyone be on a Pass/Fail system or simply state “present” like a former community-organizing Senator from Illinois and now uber-rich ex-president? Would each student select his/her desired discipline of study or would the government?

The McCourt School of Public Policy, Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University, published a report in 2015, titled: “The Economic Value of College Majors.” The report's authors stated that over 35% of today’s jobs require a college degree. They admonish students with advice, too - such as, to choose the path to their futures wisely. Match their skillsets with the lifestyle they desire. Be clear with their decisions, and be careful of emotions that could interfere with that path.

Now, under a free university system, how would the curricula, professors, and experience match the needs of the new wave of students? Would business management still be a sought after major? After all, the next step is government to decide where you work.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education; Society
KEYWORDS: college; tuition; university

1 posted on 06/05/2019 8:15:12 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Free tuition, and a negative income credit to pay for room, board, and extras. That’s the ticket!


2 posted on 06/05/2019 8:18:36 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pearls Before Swine

Look no farther than how much students learn in their free K-12 education to guess how much benefit free college really provides.


3 posted on 06/05/2019 8:20:52 AM PDT by JerryBlackwell (some animals are more equal than others)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Parents, employers and the general public have so thoroughly consumed the Kool-Aid over the years that these proposals will be eagerly embraced.

All of the bad ideas are becoming inevitable.


4 posted on 06/05/2019 8:22:37 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Do they mean to do all the brainwashing for free now?


5 posted on 06/05/2019 8:25:49 AM PDT by G. W. McLintock
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
free university education for all.

You get what you pay for...........

6 posted on 06/05/2019 8:27:42 AM PDT by Red Badger (We are headed for a Civil War. It won't be nice like the last one....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

We need to admit that we lost a good portion of the battle of Conservatism. America is now a soft Socialist nation.


7 posted on 06/05/2019 9:01:40 AM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind; All
Wait a minute, think about this one. If the government provides Free College, then we would need to bend the higher education cost curve and of course outlaw private colleges!

We would need an ObamaCare type law, oops I mean Tax so that the necessary changes could be implemented to cut Higher Education costs!

Think about all the fat in colleges. After all Harvard University's endowment is valued at $37.6 billion as of 2015. That would buy a lot of Free College..... sorry Harvard but you don't need an endowment!

8 posted on 06/05/2019 10:08:45 AM PDT by Lockbox
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

What I’d like to see get accredited—and state schools would probably be the only ones allowed to blaze the way here—would be free or nearly free colleges that handed out the syllabuses then simply administered rigorous tests to determine mastery at a high level (otherwise they’d be devalued from the start).

Plenty of sources online and at libraries to learn on your own without cost. That’s what would really crush the current college scam.


9 posted on 06/05/2019 10:18:46 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lockbox

I don’t care if parents still want to send their kids to expensive private schools—and pay for it themselves.

Just don’t do any more college student loans or grants. Let them or their families, or whoever else wants to, pay for luxuries.


10 posted on 06/05/2019 10:20:36 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker

This is the way to kill ‘Free College’! Use the ObamaCare model against them!


11 posted on 06/05/2019 10:28:45 AM PDT by Lockbox
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

TANSTAAFL. The idea that the costs of college can be transferred to the taxpayer has one little flaw: the student is faced with a choice between paying off his or her own debt over 20 years or paying off everyone’s forever. The fond illusion that “the taxpayer” equates to “somebody else” usually disappears about the time that sticker shock sets in after that first paycheck.


12 posted on 06/05/2019 10:39:37 AM PDT by Billthedrill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lockbox

Those who want free college also want Obamacare.


13 posted on 06/05/2019 10:45:47 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
Will the Free University Nirvana be affiliated with the Free University Berlin?

Where is Nirvana anyway?

14 posted on 06/05/2019 12:56:41 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 9YearLurker

Yes but the Colleges do not want ‘ObamaCare’ type take over of their higher education system. That’s what will kill Free College!


15 posted on 06/05/2019 1:09:23 PM PDT by Lockbox
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Verginius Rufus

16 posted on 06/05/2019 1:09:42 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Lockbox

Oh, the colleges don’t want it, for sure. Unless they can make out like bandits, as the insurance companies did with Obamacare. E.g., they’d love a law making college mandatory.


17 posted on 06/05/2019 1:30:45 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Lockbox

Oh, the colleges don’t want it, for sure. Unless they can make out like bandits, as the insurance companies did with Obamacare. E.g., they’d love a law making college mandatory.


18 posted on 06/05/2019 1:31:00 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson