A California Republican

In California, the higher education advocates are always having a hard time. They complain that the money to the universities is always getting cut, and that community colleges aren’t funded at a high enough level.

This is a bunch of hogwash. Higher education has never been a right of people, and people should stop thinking that it is. Higher education is a privilege. Additionally, people should have to pay for higher education. It isn’t a free ride anymore. And if you cannot pay for it, truely cannot pay for it, there is help out there for you.

However, if community colleges are concerned that they aren’t getting enough funding for re-training programs, then maybe they should switch what classes they offer. Instead of offering classing in the Art Department, maybe they should trade those classes to Accounting or Engineering classes. The community college is given the same amount of money, per unit, for an art or drama class as a computer or technical skills class. So why not switch the classes to focus there? Or do the smart thing and make more classes available via the internet. If writing and composition classes, along with history classes, were offered over the internet - the community college classes could cut down on how many classes they have to offer in their limited space, and could expand their professors to include part-timers who don’t mind teaching over the internt. The internet is the way to go, and community colleges are behind the curve.

Speaking of saving costs, the California State University system could use some overhauls. It is a four-year university, so I am not going to say stop offering art classes. However, the larger classes - like Governmetn 1, or Econ 1, could be taught over the internet and use graduate students as T.A.’s - which is far cheaper than asking professors to teach sections. This could cut down on some costs. Additionally, the students can pick up more of their share. The CSU’s are very cheap and affordable. However, they cut services while increasing fees - instead they should increase services and fees.

The CSU’s and UC systems feel it is the state’s responsibility to pay for their costs. However, it is the students’ responsibility and the responsibility of the university to fund itself. Being dependent on the state is ridiculous, and the universities know it. Additionally, the UC had a policy where professors didn’t have to pay into the retirement systen - which is also absurd. If you want retirement benefits, you pay for them while working. That is a common thing, and the UC was ridiculous for letting their system go on for so long.

The higher education community knows that they can raise fees and charge enough to cover what the state isn’t funding. However, instead of doing that, or making hard choices on what to offer, or modernizing their education so they can do it over the internet, the schools are demanding the state pay.

Let’s all enter reality and function with the real-world knowledge that the state doesn’t pay, and that higher education is a privilege not a right.