Comments on: Tuition Rates as a Barrier to Higher Education http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/01/tuition-rates-as-a-barrier-to-higher-education/ Working adults and the new world of higher education Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:48:27 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Steve Vodhanel http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/01/tuition-rates-as-a-barrier-to-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-6223 Steve Vodhanel Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:15:46 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=118#comment-6223 I suggest you begin here in your debate about the price of a college education: Elizabeth Warren at Berkeley - And yet, what's happening with college? We don't pay for it collectively. We make families pay for it individually and we make the students load up on debt so that the next generation's huge division is that the children of well-to-do families, who can afford to pay for the college education for their children, have a leg up. They start their adult lives, if nothing else, at least dead flat broke -- right? -- at least at even. The children of that huge underclass start with tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. For some it'll be a good investment, and for some it will be the rock that will sink them. They start the great American race fifty yards behind the starting line, much less the finish line. They're got all this debt that they've got to manage and all this debt they've got to pay off. And we've written the laws to make it that these debts are non-dischargeable -- you can't get out of these debts. If you get sick you still have to pay these debts, if you don't have a job you still have to pay these debts. Really tough. Now, I never had an opportunity to attend college when I was young, but after a back injury at age 44 I had to simply for survival in the workforce. Guess how I paid? No, not student financial aid, but student financial DEBT. And then I heard about this report coming from the Association of American Community Colleges talking about a 'critical shortage of leadership personnel' and when inquiring further I find Capella's website endorsing that declaration with essentially an ad for their new Leadership for Higher Education program. Well, I'm almost finished now, but funny thing, my research throughout my program has dealt with this topic and I have YET to find anywhere in the U.S. where such a shortage exists. Here in California it is nearly impossible to land a job in the community colleges. Ed Gould doesn't like to hear it when I say the CCC's are a good ol' boys network where it's virtually impossible to enter. Now after $120,000 in student financial debt, please comment on your transparency by design as it relates to Capella's agreement through endorsement that there is a critical shortage of community college leadership personnel. After all, if there is a community college that has a critical need for leadership personnel, please tell me....who they are, where they are...and how may I apply! I suggest you begin here in your debate about the price of a college education: Elizabeth Warren at Berkeley - And yet, what's happening with college? We don't pay for it collectively. We make families pay for it individually and we make the students load up on debt so that the next generation's huge division is that the children of well-to-do families, who can afford to pay for the college education for their children, have a leg up. They start their adult lives, if nothing else, at least dead flat broke -- right? -- at least at even. The children of that huge underclass start with tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. For some it'll be a good investment, and for some it will be the rock that will sink them. They start the great American race fifty yards behind the starting line, much less the finish line. They're got all this debt that they've got to manage and all this debt they've got to pay off. And we've written the laws to make it that these debts are non-dischargeable -- you can't get out of these debts. If you get sick you still have to pay these debts, if you don't have a job you still have to pay these debts. Really tough. Now, I never had an opportunity to attend college when I was young, but after a back injury at age 44 I had to simply for survival in the workforce. Guess how I paid? No, not student financial aid, but student financial DEBT. And then I heard about this report coming from the Association of American Community Colleges talking about a 'critical shortage of leadership personnel' and when inquiring further I find Capella's website endorsing that declaration with essentially an ad for their new Leadership for Higher Education program. Well, I'm almost finished now, but funny thing, my research throughout my program has dealt with this topic and I have YET to find anywhere in the U.S. where such a shortage exists. Here in California it is nearly impossible to land a job in the community colleges. Ed Gould doesn't like to hear it when I say the CCC's are a good ol' boys network where it's virtually impossible to enter. Now after $120,000 in student financial debt, please comment on your transparency by design as it relates to Capella's agreement through endorsement that there is a critical shortage of community college leadership personnel. After all, if there is a community college that has a critical need for leadership personnel, please tell me....who they are, where they are...and how may I apply! I lost a fulltime instructor position with the budget cuts of 2001 and in the past 9 years have found nothing more than a few adjunct teaching jobs. For any leadership position application I submitted every single one was returned before any further consideration. But I have become less discouraged over rejection while more resigned of giving up on a community college career after one HR VP told me his greatest problem with hiring for any position at his college was reviewing the huge number of fully qualified applicants. Well, and this ‘critical shortage’ idea? Funny or tragic that I just spent $60,000 on this dream? Steve Vodhanel I suggest you begin here in your debate about the price of a college education: Elizabeth Warren at Berkeley – And yet, what’s happening with college? We don’t pay for it collectively. We make families pay for it individually and we make the students load up on debt so that the next generation’s huge division is that the children of well-to-do families, who can afford to pay for the college education for their children, have a leg up. They start their adult lives, if nothing else, at least dead flat broke — right? — at least at even. The children of that huge underclass start with tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. For some it’ll be a good investment, and for some it will be the rock that will sink them. They start the great American race fifty yards behind the starting line, much less the finish line. They’re got all this debt that they’ve got to manage and all this debt they’ve got to pay off. And we’ve written the laws to make it that these debts are non-dischargeable — you can’t get out of these debts. If you get sick you still have to pay these debts, if you don’t have a job you still have to pay these debts. Really tough.

Now, I never had an opportunity to attend college when I was young, but after a back injury at age 44 I had to simply for survival in the workforce. Guess how I paid? No, not student financial aid, but student financial DEBT.

And then I heard about this report coming from the Association of American Community Colleges talking about a ‘critical shortage of leadership personnel’ and when inquiring further I find Capella’s website endorsing that declaration with essentially an ad for their new Leadership for Higher Education program. Well, I’m almost finished now, but funny thing, my research throughout my program has dealt with this topic and I have YET to find anywhere in the U.S. where such a shortage exists. Here in California it is nearly impossible to land a job in the community colleges. Ed Gould doesn’t like to hear it when I say the CCC’s are a good ol’ boys network where it’s virtually impossible to enter.

Now after $120,000 in student financial debt, please comment on your transparency by design as it relates to Capella’s agreement through endorsement that there is a critical shortage of community college leadership personnel. After all, if there is a community college that has a critical need for leadership personnel, please tell me….who they are, where they are…and how may I apply!

I suggest you begin here in your debate about the price of a college education: Elizabeth Warren at Berkeley – And yet, what’s happening with college? We don’t pay for it collectively. We make families pay for it individually and we make the students load up on debt so that the next generation’s huge division is that the children of well-to-do families, who can afford to pay for the college education for their children, have a leg up. They start their adult lives, if nothing else, at least dead flat broke — right? — at least at even. The children of that huge underclass start with tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. For some it’ll be a good investment, and for some it will be the rock that will sink them. They start the great American race fifty yards behind the starting line, much less the finish line. They’re got all this debt that they’ve got to manage and all this debt they’ve got to pay off. And we’ve written the laws to make it that these debts are non-dischargeable — you can’t get out of these debts. If you get sick you still have to pay these debts, if you don’t have a job you still have to pay these debts. Really tough.

Now, I never had an opportunity to attend college when I was young, but after a back injury at age 44 I had to simply for survival in the workforce. Guess how I paid? No, not student financial aid, but student financial DEBT.

And then I heard about this report coming from the Association of American Community Colleges talking about a ‘critical shortage of leadership personnel’ and when inquiring further I find Capella’s website endorsing that declaration with essentially an ad for their new Leadership for Higher Education program. Well, I’m almost finished now, but funny thing, my research throughout my program has dealt with this topic and I have YET to find anywhere in the U.S. where such a shortage exists. Here in California it is nearly impossible to land a job in the community colleges. Ed Gould doesn’t like to hear it when I say the CCC’s are a good ol’ boys network where it’s virtually impossible to enter.

Now after $120,000 in student financial debt, please comment on your transparency by design as it relates to Capella’s agreement through endorsement that there is a critical shortage of community college leadership personnel. After all, if there is a community college that has a critical need for leadership personnel, please tell me….who they are, where they are…and how may I apply!

I lost a fulltime instructor position with the budget cuts of 2001 and in the past 9 years have found nothing more than a few adjunct teaching jobs. For any leadership position application I submitted every single one was returned before any further consideration. But I have become less discouraged over rejection while more resigned of giving up on a community college career after one HR VP told me his greatest problem with hiring for any position at his college was reviewing the huge number of fully qualified applicants.

Well, and this ‘critical shortage’ idea? Funny or tragic that I just spent $60,000 on this dream?

Steve Vodhanel

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