Maiya Dean-Tuggle Essays - Education, Economy,

Maiya Dean-Tuggle Professor. Supinski English I April, 2018 Why students should get Fr ee College Tuition In today's society secondary education could mean the difference between pove rty and living comfortably. There is such a large number of people who don't go to coll ege to get the extra education because they don't have the money to pay for it. A large amoun t of people in the U.S skip going to college and getting a degree because college tuition, as well as other college other expenses, is just too much (Josephson). Not only do people skip college because of the cost of college tuition, but a number of students switch majors from a career they love to a career that will pay off the debt from their degree (Josephson). This disconnect could be fixed by simply eliminating tuition fees. This seems like an easy solution to a major problem. However, there is still a large amount of people who wrongly believe college tuition should absolutely not be free. They look at what could go wrong, instead of seeing what would definitely go right, like an i ncrease in the number of people who go to college, a decrease in the amount of debt students are in during, and well after, college, and positive effects on the economy. College tuition should be free because it would create countless positive changes for both people, universities, and the economy. One positive change is that free college tuition would create a boost in the percentage of people who go to college, versus skipping it and working a dead end job. For example, enrollment for German universities rose twenty-two percent after tuition became free (Marcus). However, Germany isn't the only country to experience a rise in enrollment after getting rid of tuition fees. Scotland, for example, had an increase in enrollment by seventeen percent after jettisoning, or dropping, tuition fees. This increase in the number of people who enroll for college would happen for the United States if it too, were to eliminate tuition costs. In fact, Georgetown University's Center for Education predicts that university enrollment in the United States would increase thirteen percent if it too were to take a tuition free stand (Marcus). This boost in enrollment means more people would receive a wider range of knowledge and skills, which are necessary as more and more jobs require a p ostsecondary education (Bergeron). Therefore, dropping tuition fees and increasing enrollment rates would help more people both secure and keep a job. With this in mind free tuition seems like a no-brainer. There are some, however, who disagree with free tuition, saying that an increase in enrollment without tuition would cause universities to lose an important source of revenue (Marcus). They continue this argument by stating that tuition is too important to lose, as a large portion of these fees are used to support research in universities (Leslie). What critics arguing this don't take into account is that with the extra people comes a boost in the amount of money the college earns. Some may wonder how this would possible since the colleges would no longer have the tuition fees. However, the answer is simple: they would replace the missing wages with money earned from campus businesses and events. Colleges and universities have on campus stores and food courts that allow students to purchase food, drinks, books for classes, and so much more. Not to mention, colleges and universities have a number of different organizations and extracurricular activities that students have to b uy tickets to attend as an observer, as well as, the money brought in from concession stands at these events (Life and Student). There is also a number of souvenirs and products students and the students families can buy to support the college in which they attend (Life and Student), which most students do. Therefore, making tuition free wouldn't cost the colleges money, but make them money, in addition to helping the student population stay in a good financial position. In addition to higher enrollment rates, free college tuition would help numerous college students decrease the amount of debt they graduate with. As stated by a member of the German students' union, Mandy Gratz,