Page 207 - Crisis in Higher Education

178 • Crisis in Higher Education

completers and noncompleters, only 21% received a four-year degree
within six years of graduating from high school.
There are two caveats to these data. First, the attendance figures for two-
year and four-year institutions are based on immediate enrollment. There
are certainly some students who seek a degree in higher education at some
later point. It is not clear how many or whether their success rate will be
higher, lower, or the same as immediate enrollers. Second, the three-year
and six-year graduation rates do not count students who take longer to
earn a degree or who transfer to another school to complete their degree.
This likely understates the percent of graduates from both two- and four-
year institutions. Educational attainment in the United States in 2015
indicated that about 33% of adults age 25 to 29 held bachelor’s degrees. 10,11
Therefore, it appears that about 12% (33% minus 21%) eventually earn their
four-year degree. Even with this higher number, it seems clear that the
primary and secondary education systems are not preparing enough stu-
dents for higher education and that higher education is not very efficient at
transforming high school graduates into advanced degree holders.
The second point in Table 9.1 is that tuition is too expensive, and the
evidence presented in Chapter 2 confirms this. However, that information
does not justify making two-year colleges and four-year universities tuition-
free. “Free” tuition confirms the validity of current practices at a time when
universities should be better stewards of their funds, using resources more
effectively and efficiently to improve outcomes. Besides, designating insti-
tutions as tuition-free does not make it so; taxpayers would pay the bill,
including wasteful spending. If homes or cars are too expensive, the solu-
tion is not to make them free. The solution begins by finding ways to cut
costs. It should be the same in higher education. Efforts must be made to
understand what is driving costs and determine how costs can be reduced.
If public, higher education has no tuition for associate and bachelor’s
degrees, it is likely to attract applicants who are not well suited for higher
education as well as those who are unsure of what they want to do. If free
tuition attracts students who are not well prepared, graduation rates are
likely to sink even lower. For students who are unsure about their future,
attending college is socially acceptable behavior that provides time to
figure out what to do. Also, if tuition is free, does this mean that more
students will major in fields of study with relatively few jobs and low
salaries? 15,16 It seems clear that encouraging these types of behavior is not
appropriate. If a two- or four-year degree has value, it only seems fair that
the people who benefit from it should pay part of the tuition.