What should society’s role in Higher Education be? If left to the free market is the equilibrium quantity of degrees floating around in society the socially optimal amount? If society should try to increase higher education (by subsidizing it) how should that be done exactly? Pay the schools, pay the students tuition, give tax breaks, etc… (One good topic to consider for your position paper)
On a similar note how should endowments to universities work? They are often of a staggering amount. This is the case for Penn State, only the money to be used seems to be constrained so it is only used for an ice hockey team (and arena). But how can this be? Basically in the same day’s news I read about how Penn State is getting $88 million at the same time they will increase tuition next year by 5% (in an economy with no inflation). (This is another good position paper, what is the role of sports in higher education)
On another side note, I admit I have not had the time to look into the issue much but this is bound to cause problems with Penn State’s athletic department in other areas. Title IX basically says the percentage of male athletic opportunities is equal to the percentage of female opportunities. This constraint is especially significant in big football teams since there is no female equivalent. I wonder how Penn State will end up complying with Title IX. (The ‘fairness’ of Title IX is another good position paper)
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Kimberly Boyd MWF 2:00-2:50
ReplyDeleteI think that these articles were a very interesting read and really got me thinking about the funding for higher education. I think that it's amazing for Penn State to get such a generous private gift for something like a hockey complex, however if they are raising their tuition for purposes such as health care, it makes you think that maybe they should be putting their money in other areas, not just sports. In the state of the economy, I think that it is very unreasonable for Penn State to ask for an increase in their already costly tuition. Students are struggling more and more each year to pay their tuition, as well as their loans when they graduate from college. By Penn State raising their tuition for in state students by 4.9%, they are making it even harder for their students to pay off their debts. Personally, if I was debating between Penn State and another school that was demographically, as well as educationally equivalent, I would pick the other school. What is to say that after this increase in tuition, in another two years they will ask for an increase again. This is not something I would be able to pay off, as an education major, for a number of years.
I also thought it was interesting to read that Penn State said that it was going to cutback $17.3 million, including a 1.3 percent decrease in departmental funding. While this plan does include $37.2 million in pay raises and benefits related and $34.8 million in health insurance and retirement, it seems like an ice rink would not be appropriate in today's climate. Fortunately, such school spending doesn't happen everywhere. At Temple they seem to be spending their money on less superficial gains, using their funding to build a new library, housing facilities, along with many other facilities.
ReplyDeleteMax Ufberg - MWF
Penn State received $88 million to construct a hockey stadium; this is an enormous amount of money used to build a sports complex. This is something nice for sports loving people especially people who love hockey and would love to see Penn State play in NCAA Division I. But, the 5% rise in tuition is something not nice for students who have hard time paying off the current tuition fees. In this recession, it is very hard to find jobs and a good pay; students work hard and take loans to pay off the tuition while, the price hikes will lead to more students in higher debt. Some students might even prefer going to a different university because of the tuition difference.
ReplyDeleteMuktak Tripathi
MWF, 1:00 P.M
I find it ridiculous that Penn State would put that large of a sum of money toward building a hockey team/arena and then have the nerve to require tens of thousands of students to pay a maximum 5% higher tuition rates annually. The funny thing is that even the state disagrees with Penn State’s desire to increase tuition costs, as they have rejected previous requests from Penn State because of unreasonable expectations in the current economy. It just goes to side with my personal belief that if you’re not a Penn State sports fan (clearly I am not), that it is not worth attending the university if/when there are far more affordable schools within the state that are comparable academically. This makes me proud to be a student here at Temple, as Temple is currently allocating large amounts of money toward much more academically-focused aspects including a new library and student housing expansions (thus allowing for more students to attend and receive an education). While I feel it is obviously the Pegulas’ right to do what they want with their money, it isn’t clear in the article if the Pegulas specifically stated that they wanted the money to be spent solely on the hockey program. A spokesperson from Penn State commented that the hockey program will be a successful engine for economic growth for the university, but I think that there are far better ways to bring in money for universities while still benefitting a broader population of people; for instance, expanding student housing and updating/expanding campus buildings in order to accommodate for more students.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that anyone, even sports fans like myself, would find it okay for a university to spend $88 million on an ice hockey rink. A 5% increase in tuition will leave a number of students in even more debt and may even cause them to transfer or for incoming freshmen to not even attend. Yes athletics are a large part of being a college sutdent and they encourage school spirit, but money needs to be spent wisely, especially with the state of our economy. The amount of money spent on college tuition is already ridiculous and has many students taking out loans and leaving them financially burdened. This is an academic facility, Penn State needs to focus on the necessities and not go spending outrageous amounts of money on the dispensable. As said before me, this also makes me a very proud Temple Owl, Penn needs to look to us for example and see that we are a university leading by example.
ReplyDeleteJasmin Eales
MWF
After reading these two articles i realized how much money is used in higher education. The new Ice hockey stadium is being paid for by donations but there are others costs that come along with having a team. Does the donation pay for the 18 men and women who recieve scholarships? Does it pay for traveling costs? How about the price of the jerseys and all of the equipment? If donated money does cover these costs what happends to the things the donations used to cover? There is no way only one person is paying for every aspect of an Ice Hockey team.
ReplyDeleteI understand the economy is in bad shape. I know college's raise tuition frequently. The fact they are asking for more money does not surprise me. Do they need it? Should they re-think what they spend their money on? That i can't be sure of I would have to do more research. I think it's asonine they are starting this huge Ice Hockey project when the economy is so poor. This could be compared to building any sports arena. It's not really a economical idea.
Hattie Cheek
American Economy TR 8am
While $88 Million might look like a staggering amount of money to give to a University, endowments and donations of this nature and size are quite common in higher education (Harvard's endowment is something along the lines of $25 Billion, making Penn State minuscule by comparison). The debate of how the money should be used is always going back and forth: academics, sports, department benefits, infrastructure, all of them seem like valid points. While many would say that academics is a dramatically better application than a new sports complex, you can't say that the latter would be a careless application. Colleges and Universities are simply a means to an end: a career, whether that be through academics or through sports. The increase in tuition, however, is largely a one-sided issue, and something that should and can be avoided. Temple has successfully avoided dramatic tuition increases in the last few years, while other schools, like the UC system, have not been so lucky, which ultimately lead to a large percentage of the student population to either transfer or drop out. The combination of a stagnant economy and rising tuition costs significantly hinders social mobility for many families, and takes away much of the incentive of going to college in the first place: Not only are you in a mountain of debt after graduation, but you can't even pay it off because you can't find a job. This is a national problem that needs to be addressed ass soon as possible, perhaps through government intervention, since the educated middle class are a significant part of our economy.
ReplyDelete-Eugene Tsvilik M/W/F 2-2:50
-Eugene Tsvilik
The 88 million dollar donation to Penn State was a very generous gift. However I think it is a lot of money to spend on atheltics. Athletics are definately important but college tuition for students should be more of a concern. Most college students have to take out loans and with the tuition being raised 5%, college tuition is pricy. Because of the recession and lack of jobs it is already difficult for students to pay for school and raising their tuition bill makes it even more difficult. Penn State should spend their money differently, especially since they had just recieved an 88 million dollar donation. The tuition of students should not be raised.
ReplyDeleteJessica Catanese
Yes its sad that all that money is being spent to establish an ice hockey team. But what need to be considered is that the 88 million was a gift, and the patrons problably wanted the money to go specifically to athetics. It is important to remember that athetics will most likely always be more important than education. This is examined every day when we see athletes make more than an average teacher. I believe the school should take some of that 88 millions and put it towards education, instead of making the students of Penn State pay 5 percent more in tuition.
ReplyDeleteDesirae Holland
tues-thur
Jenna Smith TR 8-9:20
ReplyDeleteIn times like these where it is getting harder and harder for most college students to get loans and stay in school for financial reasons it seems ridiculous for someone to donate $88 million to them in order to build a strong hockey team and arena. Although, the article does not clearly specify if the donator wants all the money allocated for the hockey team expansion it does however suggest that it all going towards that cause, which is awful. Because after this grand donation Penn State has the nerve to increase tuition rates by 5%; I believe even sports fans would see something wrong with this especially if they understand how hard it is to be a college student right now where loans are impossible to get unless a parent or relative has perfect credit and then it is still a pain! In addition, the article states that they are making a $17.3 million decrease in department funding at the school, which makes no sense where the point to attend Penn State is to get a good education not a lousy one. Moreover with these cuts this could be jeopardizing the academic aspect—the main aspect!—of Penn State. Overall, at least I go to school where there priorities are straight and they are funding academic needs over their perk needs like sports.
I think the best way to increase higher education would be paying schools. However, schools should allocate the money equally not just to sports or one specific part of their college. Also, if colleges are given money, why is tuition raised? It should decrease that way people actually stay in school and do not drop out and that is the whole point of giving money to schools.
ReplyDeleteKaramjit Kaur TR 8am