Free Essay Sample on College Tuition: Rising Prices and Free Education Debate

Introduction

According to Harris et al. (1), college price is highly rising, making it out of reach for a number of Americans. Although families can borrow, the student loan is rising at a high rate, and this means that the situation is unsustainable. Members of the Congress and democratic presidential candidates have previously endorsed free college education. Unfortunately, free is not always free since an individual has to pay for it. Deming (para. 2) argues that eliminating the tuition fee of public universities and colleges would cost about $79 billion of the taxpayers’ money. Even though making community colleges and universities free will be expensive for the government, having a highly-skilled workforce will result in an improved economy.

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Benefits

Education is beneficial to society; thus, education should be made free in community universities and colleges to enhance higher education positive externalities (Pettinger 1). Through higher education, top companies get a productive, skilled, and educated workforce (Kelly 2). It is because getting higher education improves students’ knowledge and skills in different areas. Also, students in higher education are usually flexible. The nations that have high university education rates have higher productivity growth and innovation levels. Therefore, it is essential for the government to invest in education in sustaining them.

It is important to make colleges and universities free since it will make the students focus and concentrate on their studies instead of spending more time to work leaving them with just a little time to study (Pettinger 1). Getting good grades in higher education requires hard work and concentration in study. If one is disturbed with many issues, then concentration becomes difficult. Furthermore, removing the educational cost in public colleges and universities is a good strategy for preparing and growing assorted the United States of America in the global economy (Pettinger 1). Dispensing the cost of funding public colleges and universities is also a good way to support the low-salary youngsters in seeking advanced education. Earlier, they could not manage the high costs. The young people who yearn for higher education will be beneficial to society in the future, making it essential to invest in their education.

Community colleges and universities should be made affordable or rather free since in the past, high school was considered a necessity and not a luxury (Page and Clawson para 1). Therefore, this is the current case for colleges. It should be considered as a necessity for every American citizen. The reason is that it is important for career building and fully participating in the nation's democracy (Page and Clawson para 1). Furthermore, it should be made free since it is good for both an individual and society. A learned community is one which its members always want the best, and it is highly developed since the colleges were made free for even bright students who came from low-income families (Page and Clawson para 2). College degree is regarded as a path for stable finances and life even for the struggling high school students (Page and Clawson para 1). According to Page and Clawson (para 1), studies further indicate that there is no best long term or short-term investment for the community as compared to higher education.

Equality

If the community colleges and university are made free, then equality will be enhanced (Pettinger 1). Making the university and colleges free will ensure that there is equal opportunity for all individuals. Currently, securing a job that needs a higher education is difficult due to the associated high costs. Paying for university education makes the students to be dissuaded (Pettinger 1). Theoretical, it can mean that the students take loans or work part-time to finance their higher education. Unfortunately, this strategy is insufficient as it discourages students from studying by making them spend most of their time working, making them get into the job market early compared to their peers. Also, most of the brightest minds are from low-income households; thus, the high cost of education should not prevent them from continuing with their education (Hochman 1). If equal opportunity existed, then every individual would get the chance to go to school. In getting equality, free community colleges and the university is a significant step.

Making colleges and universities is not a good strategy as it will mean that the government will have to strain its budgets in catering for those expenses (Kelly 1). Straining the budgets will result in shortages instead of increased access. The reason is that the upper- and middle-income students will fight for free slots, which will lead to rationing for the individuals who need the slots the most. For instance, California is considered to have the lowest college and university fees compared to others in the United States (Kelly 1). At times of recession, enrolments increased, and the state's budget (higher education) also hit. Since the state was unable to cater for the additional expenses, it was forced to turn way about 600,000 students (Kelly 1)

Making colleges and universities free is not a measure of success. In most cases, people believe that tuition fees hinder them from being successful (Kelly 1). However, that is not usually the real case. The things that might affect the success of student college readiness and educational quality past problems. An example is community colleges in which federal grants are responsible for covering tuition prices for the students who come from average low-income families (Kelly 1). However, despite the free tuition fee, only one-third of the students who commenced learning in 2003 completed their degree in 2009 (Kelly 1). Therefore, the figures indicate that there is a deeper problem as opposed to a lack of tuition fees for the students.

Although making community colleges and universities increase the higher education budget is a good strategy since it will result in a skilled workforce. The government may see that it will be overspending on education, but unfortunately, that is not the case as it is spending on a good course. If students get the required education and skills in the community higher education, the economy will get better, making the government recover the money it spent on an increased higher education budget (Hochman 1). Also, when individuals are educated, then it means that they can easily solve the problems of the community, including its economic conditions. Access to free community colleges and universities increases the number of high skilled jobs, which further reduces the wealth gap existing between lower, middle, and upper class (Hochman 1).

Conclusion

In conclusion, even though community colleges and universities might increase government budgets if made free, the investment is worthy as it will improve the economy through a highly skilled workforce. Making the community colleges and universities free is essential since it enhances higher education positive externalities, makes the students remain focus and concentrate, it is a necessity, and it enhances equality. Even though making them free is highly expensive and is not a measure of success, it is important to take risks since it proves to be more advantageous as the government gets highly skilled workforce.

Works Cited

Deming, David. “Tuition-Free College Could Cost Less Than You Think.” New York Times, 2019.

Harris, Douglas N., et al. "The promise of free college (and its potential pitfalls)." 2018.

Hochman, Allison. “5 Reasons Why College Should Be Free.” University of the People, 30 Jan. 2020, www.uopeople.edu/blog/5-reasons-why-college-should-be-free/.

Kelly, Andrew P. “The Problem Is That Free College Isn’t Free.” New York Times, 2016.

Page, Max, and Dan Clawson. “It's Time to Push for Free College.” NEA,
www.nea.org/home/62740.htm.

Pettinger, Tejvan. “Should University Education Be Free?” Economics Help, 26 Nov. 2019, www.economicshelp.org/blog/949/economics/should-university-education-be-free/.