Wr 323 the skyrocketing costs of college education

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The Skyrocketing Costs of College Education

WR 323: Final Project

Yu Han

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Outline

I. PSU Student Rally Against Tuition HikesII. College Tuition increase

-at PSU -across the whole nation

III. College debt-PSU students -college students across the whole nation

IV. Students' reactions toward skyrocketing tuitions and debtV. Quality of college education: what students are receivingVI. Potential social problems

-college drop out rate-minority group youths -job market

VII. What needs to be done VIII. What I think...

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I. PSU Student Rally

Against Tuition Hikes

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PSU Student Rally

Credit: http://vimeo.com/38063821Camera: Jyunmi Hatcher Reporter: Justin Brown

On Feb. 21st 2012

About 400 students and instructors from Portland State University, Portland Community College and Mounthood Community College

Held rally in the PSU Park Blocks

The main purpose of the rally was to protest against the continuous increases of Oregon college tuitions and the sharp decline in state funding for higher education

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PSU Student RallyWhat was going on?

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PSU Student Rally

Photo aboveBy: Motoya Nakamura, The Oregonian

Photo on the leftBy: Yu Han

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● On the previous page, the picture in the upper right corner is a sketch of the PSU PEP Rally. ● Students are holding placards saying "Education is a right", "The voice of students: Lower Tuition!" etc.● Most students have a serious look on their face, and they are shouting slogans. ● Students of different age groups and race groups paticipated in the rally.

The picture shows that a lot of students do care a lot about tuition fee increase of their colleges. They are worried, and so they stand out to let legislators hear their voices.

• On the previous page, the picture in the lower left corner shows things that I received from the organizor of the PEP Rally: ASPSU, prior to the rally. • There were a leaflet, a tri-fold brochure, a badge and a bookmark, and all these included information about the rally.

The preparation work by ASPSU shows that the PSU student government was trying to get students' attention about the rising tuition and unite the power of students to fight against the increase.

PSU Student Rally

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PSU Student Rally

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PSU Student Rally●Associated Students of PSU (ASPSU), which is the student government of PSU, as well as the organizer of the PEP Rally, made this tri-fold brochure.

●The student government has spent about one month for all the preparation work of the rally. They wanted to gather the power of as many students as possible, so as to draw attention of Oregon Legislature, and let the Legislature stop the fund cutting of Oregon University System.

●Rally speakers noted that the current generation of students has had to take on more debt than their predecessors because of rising tuition and declining financial aid resources.

●They also pointed out that Oregon spends more on prisons than on higher education.

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Conclusion:

●Students cannot stand anymore with the tuition increase, and they chose to stand out and fight against the tuition hikes.

●The rhetoric of this rally was focused on keeping tuition low and higher education accessible in Oregon.

●How much has tuition increased in the past few years then?

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II. College Tuition increase

-at PSU

-in Oregon

-across the whole nation

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PSU Tuition Fee Hikes

"At a meeting of the State Board of Higher Education on Jan. 6, 2012, a near 9 percent increase in tuition for the full 2012–13 academic year was approved for Portland State. Included in this hike is a 9 percent increase in tuition for the upcoming 2012 summer session as well" (PSU Vanguard).

What triggered the PSU Rally?Here we go!The 9% jump has made most of the students feeling frustrated.

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PSU Tuition Increase from 2008 to 2011Graph 1: Just How Much Has My Tuition Increased Since 2008?

Source:Portland Spectator Volume 9 /Issue 6/ April 2011, Page 3

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PSU Tuition Increase● This is a graph from Porland Spectator showing PSU tuition increases from 2008 to 2012 for both in-state and out-of-state students.

● For an in-state student who takes 15 credits every term, during the past 4 academic years, resident tuition went from $4,905 (2008 academic year) a term, to $5,321 (2009) a term, to $5,648 (2010) a term, to now $6,185 a term. Compared to the tuition in 2008, students now need to pay an additional $1,100 every term.

● PSU resident tuition has increased by appoximately 26% in the past 4 years.

● For an out-of-state student who takes 15 credits every term, during the past 4 academic years, tuition went from $17,595 (2008 academic year) a term, to now $21,369 (2011) a term. Compared to the tuition in 2008, students now need to pay an additional $3,800 every term.

● PSU out-of state tuition has increased by approximately 21% in the past 4 years.

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Tuition Increase of Oregon Colleges

Graph 2: Money for Universities:State general fund spending;Annual Tuition and fees

Source:Oregon University SystemDAN AGUAYOThe Oregonian

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Tuition Increase of Oregon Colleges

●The upper part of the graph shows that since 2007, the Oregon State general fund spending for post-secondary education has been declining. During the 2011 to 2013 period, the funding is only about 669 million dollars, which is close to the lowest status of the past decade.

●The lower part of the graph shows that the average tuition and fees for ful-time students of Oregon University System have been increasing since 2001. In addition, compared to the tuition and fees in 2001, those in 2012 are twice as much.

●In the 2012 academic year, state funding has reached its lowest point while the average tuitions and fees have hit their highest record.

●There is a trend that the state funding will keep going down in the coming several years while tuition and fees will continue on growing.

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Graph 3:College Tuition CPI Vs. U.S. Home Prices Vs. CPI

Source:BLS Census (1978-2010)

Tuition Increase across the Whole Nation

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● This is a graph showing the tuition increase across the whole nation.

● The graph is expressed in a percentage scale.

● The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was about 380% in 2010 compared to what it was in 1978.

● Home prices were about 400% in 2010 compared to what they were in 1978.

● College Tuition CPI, however, was about 1050% in 2010 compared to what it was in 1978! (a ten-fold increase!)

● Among the three indexes, the increase of college tuition CPI has outbeaten the other two. The growth of college tuition CPI was steady, and since 2002, the growth has become really fast.

Tuition Increase across the Whole Nation

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●From the previous graphs, we can see tuition hikes ‒ at PSU,‒ in Oregon, ‒ and across the whole nation. ‒ In general, college tuitions are skyrocketing!

●How do students pay for their tuitions then?

●Can students still afford their tuition?

Conclusion:

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III. College Debt

-PSU students

-college students across the whole nation

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College DebtWhat do college students need to pay for?•Tuitions;•Books and stationary;•Housing;•Food;•Clothing;•Insurance;•Entertainment;•Other things.

How do most college students pay for school?•Student loans;•Working;•Grants and scholarships;•Parents;•Other methods.

Among these methods, a combination of working to pay tuitions along with getting student loans is the most common method.

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College Debt- PSU Students

Graph 4: How does Portland State Stack Up? Percent of students who graduated with debt in 2009.

Source:Peterson's Undergraduate Financial Aid and Undergraduate Databases

In Oregon, what is percentage of students that graduate with debt?

How much do students owe on average?

PSU

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College Debt- PSU Students

● According to the Peterson's Undergraduate Financial Aid and Undergraduate Databases, about 58% of students from Portland State University graduated with debt in 2009.

● The amount that PSU students owe on average was $22,440.

● Suppose a student payback $500 each month, then he or she needs about five years to payback all his(her) original tuition and the interests.

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Video 1: Laura has $20,000 of College Loans Debt

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vjmcnx53wM&feature=related

College Debt- Students across the Whole Nation

College Debt- Students across the Whole Nation

●Laura is a representative of most college students.

●Students work hard to pay for their tuitions. However, the minimal wage that they get just barely enables them to pay for their housing and food expenses.

●By the time students graduate, most of them carry about $20,000 to $25,000 in debt.

●Though Laura is a senior student, she doesn't look happy. She looks rather worried.

●However, she is still willing to payback all her loans and debt.

Conclusion:

●Most college students pay for school by loans.

●By the time they graduate, the first thing they are to deal with is the $20,000 to $30,000 debt.

●What are students' reactions toward skyrocketing college tuitions and loans?

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IV. Students' Reactions toward

Skyrocketing College Tuitions

28Credit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFb6EB2bCxU&feature=related

Video 2:YouSpeak: Student Loan Debt- Students from Boston University

Students' Reactions toward Skyrocketing College Tuitions and College Debt

●According to these interviews of Boston University students, college debt is a BIG concern of them. Some of them even describe it as their number one struggle. As soon as they get out of school, they will need to deal with this nightmare.

●A lot of students cannot afford to go to colleges or graduate schools due to the high tuitions.

●The pressure of paying off loans is affecting students' choices about their jobs and careers.

●Students are complaining that getting a degree does not help them to get better jobs or earn more money. They are getting the same amount of money that high school graduates are getting. The only difference is that they have a huge amount of loans and debt to pay off.

Students' Reactions toward Skyrocketing College Tuitions and College Debt

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Students' Reactions toward Skyrocketing College Tuitions and College Debt

●Students are saying that they need a good higher education to better themselves and better the world.

●Students think that currently, the government and the Legislature haven't done enough to provide students with a good opportunity to enjoy an affordable and high quality higher education.

●Students are looking for more help from the government with their higher education.

31Credit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sbBTyxNOMc&feature=related

Video 3: Student Loan Debt Crisis

Students' Reactions toward Skyrocketing College Tuitions and College Debt

Students' Reactions toward Skyrocketing College Tuitions and College Debt

●According to the video, combined student loan debt is now about 1 trillion dollars, and the average is hitting about $24,000 per student.

●Student loan debt is even larger than the credit card debt of this country.

●Because of the big concerns of college tuitions and debt, students are doubting the value of higher education.

●Some students even have extreme opinions toward college education. They think colleges are just robbing their money.

Students' Reactions toward Skyrocketing College Tuitions and College Debt

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PCC Sylvania Student Body President Douglas Taylor said students already carry too much debt.

“It's difficult. Options for employment are restricted. They’re not able to follow their dreams as much as follow the paycheck. They have to be able to pay off these loans,” Taylor said. A group called “The Project on Student Debt” reports that two thirds of all college graduates had school debt when they graduated in 2010. The average bill totaled $25,000.

Portland State’s Student Body President, Adam Rahmlow said he has $12,000 in debt. He’s kept the amount lower than some by working his way through school.

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http://www.kgw.com/video/featured-videos/PSU-students-protest-tuition-hike-139917143.html

承上启下 what effects do high tuitions have on students?

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-other debt

-college drop out rate

-minority group youths

-job market

V. Potential Social Problems

Caused by High College Tuitions

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VI. Quality of College Education

: What Students are Receiving

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VII.Is College Worth It?

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VIII. What Needs to be Done

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mishima666 February 22, 2012 at 2:10AM

It's not an example of the entitlement society. Education is an investment in the younger generation -- the people who will eventually be our engineers, doctors, nurses, police, accountants, etc. When education becomes unaffordable, we've basically crippled young people even before they've had a chance to get started.

I graduated from a private university 30 years ago. Between grants, small loans, and my own funds I emerged from college with very little debt. Today's students end up with crippling debt, even from public universities, and even when they are working while attending school. I'm happy to pay taxes that will help students get the same benefit I got when I was younger.

http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/02/oregon_college_students_call_f.html

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IX. What I Think...

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