In the essay, “Are Colleges worth the Price of Admission?” Andrew Hacker, professor at Queens College, and Claudia Dreifus, professor at Columbia University, discuss the rising price of college admission, while the quality of the education declines. They propose several ways to make the price of college worth what students get out of it. Their first proposition is having professors be more accessible to students (180). They urge the universities to better praise the professors and spend university money wisely-using it to keep the original goal of educating students (183). Hacker and Dreifus urge universities to make professors more accessible to students. They believe that schools need to mandate worthy teachers that are attentive to all students in their classroom. This being said, the authors also believe that professors should be helping students use their graduate years to find what they really want to do, rather than go straight into vocational majors only thinking about the payoff they will receive from it. They advocate the idea that students “should become more thoughtful and interesting people.” (180). This connects back to the authors point, that for the price of college, professors should better attend to the students.
Another proposal the authors make is for universities to improve on the way they distribute the funds they have. The authors suggest a better way of distributing money among professors. Not only a better distribution of money, the authors also suggest replacing tenure with multiyear contracts that would encourage and motivate teachers to provide an education that is worth the price of tuition for students (183).
In sum, Hacker and Dreifus believe that providing students with an education that is worth the price could be done by having professors become involved with students and by issuing funds to motivate better teaching.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Author Keith M. Parsons’s purpose was to briefly summarize the differences between high school and college to his future students. Parson begins his article by stating a few things that will guide you into becoming a successful student. He first wants to explain the difference between a teacher and a professor, “Teachers are evaluated on the basis of learning outcomes, generally as measure by standardized tests. If you don’t learn, then your teacher is blamed. However, things are very different for a university professor. It is no part of my job to make you learn. At university, learning is your job and yours alone. My job is to lead you to the fountain of knowledge. Whether you drink deeply or only gargle is entirely up to you”. (Parson, 1)…
- 164 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
As of today United States faces a lot of socio-economic problems. One of the most critical is the alarming rise of college tuition. Universities are operating more like businesses than actually higher learning institutions, student population not being ready to take college level classes (remedial), numbers College graduates are in a constant plummet, and students demonstrate no improvement in skills ranging from critical thinking to writing. In the book Academically Adrift, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa discuss these issues and also propose us how we can solve these problems that require imminent action. This book is an extensive research by these authors to demonstrate what is wrong with American University systems, to support their research…
- 189 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
In their report, Hacker and Dreifus point out schools needing to focus on engaging the student. (180).The authors suggest policy reforms that colleges can use to make themselves worth the tuition they charge. Hacker and Dreifus suggest that universities engage students by utilizing a universal…
- 287 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The author, Dick Armey, in this article suggests that there should be desperate measures to regulate the system at Texas universities. According to Armey, the universities are more focused on the complacencies of the faculty instead of the students that has potential. Armey sides with the undertaking of Governor Rick Perry’s education reform, which states that Texas’ education has gone off track and changes must be enforced. The University of Texas is pronounced the third largest endowment in the country, but falls into 47th for best academics. Not only the need for higher education has raised concerns but tuition is too.…
- 949 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In “Do the Benefits of College Still Outweigh the Costs?” economists Jaison R. Abel and Richard Deitz dive deeper into the quest as to whether or not college is worth it. The authors use graphical charts to display the statistics of data based research and measure the costs associated with obtaining a college education by looking at two major components. The first are direct costs, such as tuition. The second are opportunity costs, the amount of money that could have been earned by working instead of going to college. This article notes that a key consideration in assessing the costs “lies in the declining fortunes of those without a college degree”. After putting the full set of costs and benefits into account, readers are informed that a…
- 136 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Today, the high speed development of Internet technology allows people to obtain knowledge more conveniently than any previous age. The plentiful methods in getting knowledge cause some people to doubt the functions of the college, and claim that the college has been already not the best place in nurturing intellectuals. Gerald Graff expresses the similar idea depending on his childhood’s experience in “Hidden intellectualism”, and claims the “street smarts” can provide more benefits than “book smart” which we learn in the college. I would argue that the college is still the best place for students become intellectuals because of the unique benefits such as the open academic environment, professional lectures, and complete academic services.…
- 1117 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
“Graduating with six figures ' worth of debt is becoming increasingly common.” (179) In the essay “Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission” Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus discussed about how the price of college education is increasing, while the quality of some teachers is decreasing. Hacker and Dreifus gave tips on how to make college education successful. Hacker and Dreifus included the tips they discovered including money, faculty-student relations, classes that should be taken, graduate schools, and teaching techniques; the two also visited schools across the United States from University of Mississippi to Western Oregon and figured out what those schools were doing right to have a good success rate.…
- 959 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the article, “Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission?” by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, the authors did research on several colleges around the country to see whether our investment on higher education is really worth the money that we pay for it. The authors believe that universities are the ones responsible for the doubling of tuition costs compared to what they used to be , and not fulfilling the most important objective to student’s which is: “to challenge the minds of young people” (180). In the article, Hacker and Dreifus outline some things they think would help improve some of the problems in the college system and a few universities that they like, and tell us why these schools have won their favor. Being an incoming freshman at Grambling State University, I’ve been able to see some of the issues universities can have from budget cuts, to problems with the G-men football team.…
- 822 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
For instance, if students make the decision to attend a prestigious, expensive college, Hacker and Dreifus have prepared alternate studies that will ultimately be a better investment for the student, such as: Philosophy, Literature, or physical sciences. They mention that, “the undergraduate years are an interlude that will never come again, a time to liberate the imagination and stretch one’s intellect without worrying about a possible payoff’ (Pg. 188, Hacker/Dreifus). Taking advantage of impractical studies will not benefit the students. Furthermore, they discuss how colleges are in need of more money in the down economy. With that said, they have provided the thought of spreading donations around. They say, “too many benefactors donate to institutions that are already well provided for. Even in economic downturns, gifts to the wealthiest colleges keep coming in”(Pg. 187, Hacker/Dreifus). Colleges that lack the funds necessary to provide a substantial learning environment are suffering. This is why the government needs to fund the more needy Colleges. When it comes to salary for all professors Hacker and Dreifus have provided an alternate route. By allowing for, “adjuncts to receive the same per-course compensation as an assistant professor, including health insurance and other benefits”(Pg. 185, Hacker). They mention that, “it is immoral and unseemly to have a person…
- 821 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Not all students should go to college because college can often cost more than it is worth. College tuition has risen at a significantly higher rate than inflation in the previous generation. With student loan debt having passed one trillion dollars recently, one must ask…
- 894 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Many people today question our education system. Many more of them will question education like colleges being worth it. With today’s job market and the cost to go to college, you might think it is not. A lot people in our society view higher education as an investment that will pay off in the long run but many others would tell you that you are just wasting time and money.…
- 846 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
College is worth the cost because it's like a ticket to a good life .One reason why college is worth the cost is college helps you get a good paid job. For example good paying jobs want educated people not people who didn't graduate high school. Also when you get your bachelor's degree most jobs will want you. A second reason why college is worth the cost is people who did graduate from from college earn more money in your lifetime than people who didn't go to college. A second example is college will help you get a well payed job. A third reason why college is worth the cost is education will be more important in the future. For example in 2028 there will be more 1,000 jobs for people who graduated college.…
- 327 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
College not only provides you with the knowledge of your career, but also helps you grow as a person by learning how to deal with your own problems. For example, college exposes students to diverse people and ideas. Students live, go to classes, and socialize with other students from around the world and learn from professors with a variety of expertise. (Pro Con) The community of people on a college campus means students are likely to make various friends and different business connections. Interaction within a variety of people allows college students to learn about different cultures, religions, and personalities they may have not encountered with in their home towns. In 2004, seventy-nine percent of people with graduate degrees and seventy-three percent of college graduates thought it "very important to try to understand the reasoning behind the opinions of others.” (Pro Con) College gives an opportunity for students to explore career options, by offering career services, internships, job shadowing, job fairs, and volunteer opportunities in addition to a wide variety of courses that…
- 446 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
College is a place for higher education. Many people go there for further study every year. Meanwhile, plenty of people skip college or drop out of college. Sort of people believe college is not worth because it cost too much. Most people think college is worth because you will able to get a good job when you holding a degree. Yes, because being a college graduate can help you gain more than the money you spent to pay for college.…
- 1116 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Although increasing the cost of tuition is sought to be beneficial to the staff and faculty by being able to provide what some would consider a better quality education. As well as provide some students with a sense of motivation due to the high cost, as some wouldn’t be able to afford to fail in school. It is evident that an increase in tuition would simply, create a higher student loan debt, cause a slash in state funding and even bring about some discouragement to students.…
- 520 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays