The University Experience

Hello. The previous story had some commentary along with it. What follows is based only on facts I have gathered. Enjoy!

Issues of the university experience
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter

LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 5, 2007) -- An academic search through the Cal-State Long Beach library has identified tuition, grade inflation, U.S. history’s role in education, professor pay, and graduate rate as important issues in public universities in the United States.

At the University of Virginia, tuition plus room and board for an in-state student for four years amounts to $68,000. According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, tuition at a public four-year university has risen 42 percent in the last 10 years.

Grade inflation was addressed by the regents of the University of Colorado. Last fall, they opted to allow a student’s ranking to be posted to transcripts of those students who requested the information. It is believed that this is a better indicator of student performance as opposed to grades.

In Arizona, analysts at the Goldwater Institute published a report that accused the University of Arizona of giving courses with a more global, multicultural perspective greater weight in general education requirements.

Professor pay is another controversial topic. There is a divide between those who think that professors are being paid too much when benefits such as bonuses and incentives are factored into their pay. On the other hand, the California State University Faculty Union may strike for better pay. They feel that professors are not being paid what others in comparable universities are paid.

In an Internet-broadcast speech last September, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said that education in the country had slipped behind global competition. She identified access to college and sustained graduation rates as vital to the nations higher education system.