One of my favorite writers, Wendy McElroy, has a very informative article up about the high prices of some low-value college curricula.
Before they send their children onto a college campus in North America, parents should read two new reports...
The first study, Death of the Liberal Arts?, was released last month by the Independent Women's Forum. Melana Zyla Vickers examined the curricula of the top 10 liberal arts colleges as ranked by the authoritative U.S. News and World Report. She concluded, "Even at the best ... freshmen can't obtain a sound education in history, literature and other fundamentals of civilization."
Some of the knowledge freshmen will not find includes a course on Shakespeare at Bowdoin, any overview of American history at Amherst and an overview of any literary period at Swarthmore. Meanwhile, freshmen at William College can explore such esoteric areas as an English course on "man's desire ... to take, order, idealize and copy nature's bounty while humanizing, plundering and destroying the environment" even though there is no comprehensive course in history...
Yet the cost for a freshman to graduate from one of the "top ten" could run as high as $120,000.
A second report issued by the College Board, a non-profit schools association, Trends in College Pricing 2003, states, "college tuition and fees increased an average of $579 at four-year public institutions, $1,114 at four-year private institutions, and $231 at two-year public institutions" in 2002.
What's more, one researcher estimates that half the money going to public universities comes from taxpayers, and a lot of that money appears to be going into non-academic projects (water slides and indoor batting cages, anyone?).
What does Ms. McElroy suggest? Privatization.
There is an obvious solution: Return to a curriculum in which knowledge is valued more than political correctness.
University academics will resist an attempt to make them accountable to those who pay their salaries. One solution: Remove obstacles to accountability, such as tenure. At the same time, privatize as much of the university system as possible so that it becomes responsive to "clients" -- that is, to the parents and students who purchase and consume its services.
If clients value political correctness or water parks, then they can pay the cost both in lower academic standards and spiraling tuition. Meanwhile, those who value knowledge and skill can enjoy the comparatively modest, stripped-down tuition it would cost to acquire them.
Posted by kswygert at November 19, 2003 04:32 PM