The furor over student debt in this country takes aim at a noble cause — quality education at a good price — but obscures an even nobler cause, which is getting more students to take on more debt to obtain more skills in a modern economy that doesn’t pay living wages to uneducated workers, the Atlantic/National Journal reports. Seen in this light, the single most important issue in higher education isn’t cost, it’s really something more like advertising. If we want students from disadvantaged areas to attend good colleges and obtain modern skills, we should be thinking about ways to entice them, not scare them with blaring headlines: “six figures in debt and unemployed at 22.” There’s a quieter, more lower-case crisis that is potentially even more dangerous for the economy: Smart, low-income students who never consider applying to our best colleges — even though the education would both cost less and lead to higher-paying jobs…
…Read MorePodcast Series: Innovations in Education
Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
How U.S. students’ low math test proficiency could affect the economy
U.S. students rank poorly in proficiency on both domestic and international math exams, a problem that could cost the country $75 trillion over 80 years, according to a new study, reports the Huffington Post. U.S. students fall behind 31 countries in math proficiency and behind 16 countries in reading proficiency, according to the report released Wednesday, titled “Globally Challenged: Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete?”
…Read MoreStudents care most about education, economy
As the University of California prepares to discuss another student fee increase for the next academic year amid continuing budget woes, students will look to Governor-elect Jerry Brown and a new Legislature to commit to higher education funding, reports the Daily Bruin. In exit polling conducted by the Daily Bruin at polling sites, students overwhelmingly marked education and economy as the issues that influenced them most. Brown historically has supported higher education, but UCLA political science Professor Tom Schwartz said it is not clear that Brown can solve a budget crisis that extends across the entire state…
…Read More