College Education: Learning Inside And Outside The Classroom, Tuition And Access

Mission to develop better members of the global community by educating more students, regardless of socioeconomic factors

In its current state, the relationship between potential collegiate students of the future and Higher Education has become one of hesitance and, in more drastic situations, outright resentment. This new shift in public opinion stems from a diffused correlation between the cost of attendance and future job security. Our mission at _____ University is to

Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom:

What you learn outside the classroom is just as important as what you learn inside the classroom. The skills and what students learn through their college years will be able to be used and applied to real world situations and benefit them in their future endeavours. _______ University encourages students to branch outside of their comfort zone to join clubs and organizations to make their college experience more successful and fun. College is a time to find yourself, a time period discover your strength and your passions, and sometimes just going to class doesn’t allow you to do. This is a time in your life to meet new people and possibly make your forever friends, and make close connections to your school. Learning outside the classroom allows students to be able to make connections with classmates not in their class. With _____ University being a public school with a large amount of students it is more difficult to form close connections just attending class, which is why the University gives students opportunities to join many clubs, participate in social events, obtain internships, work study, and many more chances to interact with the University community. Participating in opportunities outside the classroom will also benefit students when writing a resume in the future for applying for a position at a company. Preparing for a college student’s future starts freshman year they may not know it but everything they do from there on out will affect their lives. Employers like to see not just good grades, but also look at what students were involved in, how they impacted it, and if they had any leadership roles involved with what they were a member in. Going to class, getting good grades, participating in clubs shows dedication, shows time management, organization, all which are transferable skills which employers tend to look for when hiring for a new position in a company.

Affordability:

In recent years, the economic classes of the United States are drifting further apart. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is disappearing. This is resulting in more and more low-income families not having the opportunities to attend college, which in turn fills the institutions with students that can pay the entire price without government assistance. Despite this, colleges are continually raising, not lowering their tuitions. After all, these institutions are businesses, turning tuition into educated, well-rounded individuals. As Archibald puts it, Universities are a business providing a service. And “Services are much more likely than goods to have price increases that exceed the average price increase” (“The Anatomy of College Tuition”, 3). This may explain one reason that colleges continue to raise their tuition so extensively, but what we are finding is that these universities are raising tuition to a point that the only way for a low-income student to acquire any post-secondary education is to drown one-self in student debt.

At ____ University, we acknowledge these issues facing young adults today. In light of this, we are fully committed to make cost of attendance affordable for everyone, and to keep it that way for years to come. Our goal as a university is to keep tuition consistent with inflation, and not slowly break away and raise tuition to keep it out of reach for low income families like many other universities have been doing in order to fill their classrooms with those who are paying undiscounted rates. At ____ University, we actively make steps to maintain low costs by conducting periodic audits of the university itself, as well as value assessments for the degrees we offer. This way, we know exactly what the students are paying for, and so will they. Enrolling at our university will cost less, and benefit more. Our lower tuition fees will lead to fewer loans per student, and by cutting costs, we pride ourselves in providing an education to a wider socio-economic range of students than many other universities could provide.

Access and Equity:

It is of utmost importance to us at ____ University that each student gets an equal opportunity at attendance, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, or socio-economic status. We maintain a liberal learning atmosphere, free from ties from any major religions, keeping us a more accessible source of education for a wider variety of students. Discussing bias at popular U.S. institutions, an article from The Economist stated that “…elite universities do everything in their power to admit the children of privilege. If they cannot get them in through the front door by relaxing their standards, then they smuggle them in through the back” (“Poison Ivy”). This shows how some of the top schools in the United States are trying to exclude people without privilege, to increase both their competitiveness, as well as their revenue.

Here at ____, we prohibit any form of nepotism, as well as biasing admissions based on who a student’s parents are. We believe in the potential of the student and what they can accomplish, not what their parents were able to. As far as general admissions go, we are very proud to retain an acceptance rate of 80%. We also do not formally require a specific SAT or ACT score, as we feel that they are not always an accurate representation of a student’s potential. Having also an early admissions process, we make it easy for students to begin their post-secondary education here at ____. We also are home to various minority organizations on campus so that the entire student body may make their voices heard. Because at ____, we believe that everyone deserves the chance to make a difference, not just those who already have the means to do so, or those who depend on their legacy to get them through the door.

Works Cited

1. “Poison Ivy.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 21 Sept. 2006, www.economist.com/united-states/2006/09/21/poison-ivy.
2. “The Anatomy of College Tuition.” Why Does College Cost so Much?, by Robert B. Archibald and David H Feldman, Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 1–19.
3. “Learning Inside and Outside of the Classroom” Five Benefits of Getting Involved in Co-curricular Activities, Wheaton College, pp 2-8