Teen Observer Archive

According to New York Times, the University of Veracruz claimed that they did not receive their assigned budget through Javier Duarte’s government. The ex-governor was involved in a corruption scandal when he stole more than 3,000 million US dollars in the course of six years. This meant that many students were affected as the university did not obtain the necessary income.

A 4-year private university degree in Mexico City can add up an average of 500,000 MX pesos, which contrast the country GDP of 162,000 MX pesos, according to the World Bank Group.

This may raise the question, should college be free? There are several public universities through the country which have modest to non-cost that benefit the population throughout the country, however private and higher-ranked universities are not always easily accessible for the majority of the population.

Gabriela García Hubard, a profesor at UNAM (Universidad Autonoma de Mexico) university, believes that education should be completely free as it is the key to end poverty.

She said “the problem is corruption, even public money aimed for SEP, which is the Secretaria de Educacion Publica, never arrives to the destination. A lot of money is even stolen by employees of a higher level.

In Mexico, because of free education, poor people are able to get out of their situations and have more opportunities of development and growth.” Her believes support the idea that if the goverment was not corrupt them education could be more accesible. When asked if she believed that if colleges were free their ranking would fall, she stated that in France some of the best universities are free.

More students in Georgia will have the possibility for free college in the 2018-2019 school year due to increased funding towards the HOPE scholarship according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI).

HOPE, which gets its funding from the Georgia Lottery, has plans to increase its funding by $50.4 million dollars according to the GBPI. This will include the HOPE Scholarship as well as the Zell-Miller Scholarship.

Because of financial barriers, college isn’t an option for everyone. “There are a lot of kids who are in need, and they have a lot of potential,” New York native Elizabeth P. said. HOPE provides kids with the opportunity to break these barriers.

Implemented in 1993, the HOPE Financial Aid Program has relieved the financial wounds that college often inflicts. The program consists of the HOPE scholarship, grant, GED grant, career grant, and the Zell Miller Scholarship and grant.

The HOPE scholarship offers a dollar amount per credit hour earned, dependent on the university. The Zell Miller Scholarship is awarded to students with at least a 3.7 GPA, taking four rigorous classes, and have at least a 1200 SAT and/or 26 ACT.

“HOPE is cutting the cost of my tuition to make school more affordable. Now I don’t have to rely on finding several non-institutional scholarships,” HOPE Scholar and University of Georgia student Kaleb Comer said.

Free college is becoming a hot topic amongst candidates of the 2018 Gubernatorial election. Democratic nominees Stacey Evans and Stacey Abrams are directing much of their platform towards supplementing and maintaining the HOPE program in Georgia.

“I know Stacey wants to make sure that college in Georgia is a possibility for everyone, not just those with the most money,” Intern for Stacey Abrams’ campaign and high school senior  Jackson Caruso said.

As college becomes more of a requirement to venture into the workforce, Georgia is making it possible for its students to achieve their degrees with as little debt as possible.

California State Universities and University of California schools approved tuition increases in January for the 2017-2018 school year.

This hike is the first increase in six years; California Governor Jerry Brown specified in his 2011 budget plan that there would be no tuition hikes, but in his most recent plan, he puts no restrictions on tuition.

The CSU Office of the Chancellor released the tuition proposal, stating that there would be a $270 increase in tuition from $5,472 per student to $5,742. This proposal argues that an increase is necessary because “State investment in support of the CSU has moved from approximately 80 percent in the mid-1990s to closer to 50 percent by 2016-17, with the remaining revenue provided by tuition and fees.” The UC proposal states that there will be a total increase of $336, bringing the total tuition cost to $12,360, not including housing, books, or campus fees.

UC President Janet Napolitano says that the increase should not have a large effect on students; Mother of two, Olga Ortega, disagrees. Her eldest son is entering his sophomore year in college and is paying for tuition through a full-time job. Ortega says her son is “very stressed” and any increase, no matter the size, would greatly affect his daily life.

Chancellor Timothy P. White claims that this increase will bring $77.5 million in revenue and most students with scholarships and financial aid would not be affected.

Elliot Chang, a student receiving financial aid at UC Irvine, said that even though he would be paying more, he would not be greatly affected. “I see all the new facilities,” Chang said in an interview with The Orange County Register, “I really appreciate the effort they’re putting into it.”

Many students, however, have protested and opposed the hike, arguing that they are often left out of decisions that will affect them the most.“If a perfect job were done listening to students’ concerns, we would not need to protest so often, complain so much” said Ralph Washington Jr., UC student representative, in an EdSource interview.

Washington is the sole representative of 252,000 students at all ten UC campuses. He and David Lopez, CSU student representative, had protested the hike before its approval, arguing that the seemingly small increase could “pay someone’s food for a month, or half month’s rent depending on what city you are living in, or it could be all your books for a quarter or your flight home for the holidays.”

State officials hope that the hikes will ultimately express to Governor Brown that small tuition increases help long-term financial sustainability for UCs and CSUs.  

One of the major programs available to Colorado college students, the College Opportunity Fund, has made little impact on Colorado students, according to a 2011 article in The Colorado Independent.

The article cited a 2009 evaluation of the program by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education which found that the program had not been successful in increasing enrollment in participating schools and had instead corresponded with a decline in enrollment in higher education.

The College Opportunity Fund is designed to provide a stipend directly to eligible undergraduate students based on their credit hours. Each year, the amount of per credit hour funding is determined by the state legislature, and the funding for participating private universities is half that of participating public institutions.

In the 2016-2017 school year, the COF awarded $75 per credit hour to qualifying students at participating public universities and $38 per credit hour at participating private universities, according to the College Opportunity Fund website.

Photo by Laura Scudder: The campus of University of Colorado Boulder, a public college at which COF stipend credit is available

As programs such as the COF attempt to lessen the financial burden of higher education, the problem of college accessibility has shifted the national conversation to free university. “Education should be accessible to all,” said American University student Elizabeth Morton, “and making education more affordable or free would be a good way to do that, but I’m not sure how viable that is under the current political climate.” Parent and educator Kim Kinner expressed similar views, saying “Free education is a great thing, but someone has to pay for it.”

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average cost of attending a four-year college in Colorado is $19,487.32 per year. A 2016 report by the Colorado Department of Higher Education found that 55.8% of the high school graduating class of 2014 were enrolled in a postsecondary institution immediately after graduation.

Additionally, the report included a 2013 statistic which estimated that by 2020, 74% of Colorado jobs will require some form of postsecondary education.

The Kalamazoo Promise is an organization that gives financial aid to the Kalamazoo, Michigan School District due to the increase in college tuition. The Kalamazoo Promise provides an alternative method of paying for college for students in the Kalamazoo area. By using the funds donated by private donors, the program has changed how students in the area do school.

According to their brochure, a recipient must be a Kalamazoo student for 4 years or more, a resident of the Kalamazoo School District, accepted to one of the lists of acceptable colleges, and have at least a 2.0 GPA. Other factors also play into the amount of money given to the person deemed deserving of the scholarship. The amount of time spent in the school system can heighten the percentage of the tuition paid for, as shown in the table below.

Source: The Percentage of Benefit Given Depending on Years of Attendance for The Kalamazoo Promise

According to Upjohn University, there was a 33% increase in college completion among Kalamazoo students. Before the Promise was activated, the percentage of students who earned any type of post credential was 36 percent, but now the percentage is 48 percent according to another study done produced by Upjohn University.The effects are shown in when the Kalamazoo Central High School won the national challenge presented by Obama.

The rising tuitions of colleges in Michigan as well as across the U.S. have forced many students to search for financial aid. In fact, Michigan has increased its average tuition for 4 years in a public college from $6,924 in 2005 to $12,464 in 2016 according to the College Board. The increase has not only affected one state, people are expressing their opinion on financial aid in all states.
“Expanding financial aid is important to give students equal opportunity to choose the schools they like,” American University Interim Vice President of Campus Life Dr. Fanta Aw said.

Obama’s visit shows a positive impact from the Kalamazoo Promise, other programs nationwide emulate the one in Michigan. College Promise Campaign helps students all over the country with financial aid similarly to the program in Kalamazoo. The future looks good because help exists as long as students choose to take it.

The American Council on Education reports the median debt for a community college or a 2 year long college program per student was almost $6,000 in 2003-2004 and students graduating with master’s degree had debt ranging from 26,000-29,000. Student debt can weigh heavily on college graduates, who depending of their major can struggle finding work and providing for themselves post graduation.

USA Today reported the Federal Reserve’s in-depth survey that collected data about family income,and the data concludes, a college degree doubles the typical person’s annual income.

Odyssey writer Trey Anthony Soto wrote, “The process takes time, some longer than others but if you really want to understand differing viewpoints and the people that hold them, then challenging yourself and your viewpoints and beliefs is of great importance,” when reflecting on his time at biola University.Errol Mcneill a 2013 college graduate describes college as an all around “eye opening experience” beyond an education.

But a College education in America is simply not available to all students and comes at a high cost. American Politician and ex presidential candidate Bernie Sanders believes, “education should be a right not a privilege.” Quinn Owen, a 2017 college graduate, said that “all students are entitled to a free education”.

But can Americans whose taxes will raise if a free college system is to be put into effect afford to make it free? “It sounds great and really catches hold with a lot of younger people,” said Greenwich Representative Fred Camillo to the CT Post. Camillo who is also a member of a higher education committee says, “at end of the day, it’s not free. Someone has to pay for it. I want to see how we are going to pay for it.”

Connecticut lawmakers are contemplating moving to a free college system. New York created a scholarship known as the “Excelsior Scholarship” that would offer free tuition to New Yorkers whose families make less than $125,000 a year, and Connecticut may follow in their footsteps.

According to the Connecticut Post, Governor Dan Malloy’s spokeswoman Meg Green thinks “the rising cost of higher education, along with mounting student loan debt, block the path into the middle class for millions of Americans.”

Nearly a billion dollars is spent annually on higher education presently so with the addition of free tuition the price may be too great for the state to sustain, but many still strive for the equal opportunity promised by free tuition.