LITERATURE REVIEW 12
Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW 1
Literature Review
Student’s Name
Institution
Abstract
The review of the literature on higher education subsidies is extensive and has been covered across multiple scholarly journals over the years. However, these scholars have varying opinions on the current government subsidies and the implications they have on the economy vis-à-vis the positive impact the grants have on the promotion of higher education attainment. This section will cover nine key sources that present different views on the application of subsidies in higher education and the consequences that each of the opinions has in shaping the future of direct funding of teaching in higher education. The paper discusses a variety of policy recommendations and ideas that may be critical in the long term. The policy options either address the cost-cutting need or the need to consider a different approach to the education system. The article covers nine critical sources which offer a wide range of views and ideas on the best way to address the current extents of high costs associated with the process of acquiring higher education.
A critic of Direct Subsidies of Higher Education
The controversy around the direct funding of students in the attainment of higher education outcomes seems to draw mixed reactions across the scholarly divide. Weissmann (2012) makes some daring remarks regarding the current trends in government subsidizing of higher education. According to his article titled, “The real meaning of $ Trillion in student loans the scholar makes some rather implicative remarks. First, the author notes that the only silver lining in the case of government subsidies to students seeking higher education is the fact that the United States is producing more students with higher educational credentials who may be impactful to the economy in the future. In essence, Weissmann (2012) notes that this is the only positive aspect regarding the outstanding student debt as it currently stands in the United States. The scholar reveals that there must be an honest conversation regarding the future of the country’s economy under the mountainous student’s debt that is currently withstanding.
The current overall student’s debts according to Weissmann (2012) currently stands at over $ 1 Trillion, which is a considerable burden that may not be recovered in the foreseeable future. The worrying fact according to this research is the argument that the figure currently stands above the overall US collective credit in terms of their card balance. In the scholar’s view, the data serve to show just how enormous the figures are in the long –term. In the last five years, it has been noted that in more than two-thirds of the students are graduating with enormous debts, which means that they may never be able to recover such debts in the end. Weissmann (2012) reveals that as it stands, there is a considerable number of students who may never be able to redeem their underlying debts especially owing to the fact there have never been able to get employment opportunities despite having graduated. The article also reveals that due to the substantial underlying debt among such students the rates of future delinquency on the payment of such payments. The author shows that as the situation currently stands, there may be concerns in the future regarding the government’s ability to regulate spending, mainly because more needy students will continue to seek such loans in the long-term.
The long-term implication according to Weissmann (2012) is that there will be constant cases of defaulting and greater concerns around the rise in the cases of delinquency to overwhelming credit needs. The needs within the broader higher education setting in the United States have made continuously the ability to afford an education without such government funding possible. The author believes that while the government has held up to the need to continue with the funding of higher education, there is limited focus on the extent to which these subsidies will continue to have a direct implication on the economy. The scholar partly blames the lack of mechanisms aimed at fast-tracking public borrowing as the reason for the underlying issues.
A recent post on the analysis of the current state of affairs in higher education by the education dive offers a critical brief on the issues that are likely to affect delivery in the year 2018. The author Arnett (2018) notes that for the first time in a long time there has been a general focus on the current federal tax bill in the United States. The research by Arnett (2018) notes that as the overall federal tax bill in the states increases eventually, such states will continue to experience challenges about the ability to guarantee the stability of state revenue vis-à-vis the respective state expenditures. The scholar argues that as the countries gradually suffer a more significant burden in terms of higher education funding, there will emerge a need to address the current federal policy in lieu of the outstanding revenue burden.
The author addresses the tax bill implications in the current approach to education funding and the need for reauthorization and the financial aid reforms within the broader education. The calculation of state aid in such cases must be as a precursor to the decision to determine the value of funding that such states should receive in the end. The scholar records that one of the most significant concerns in the long-term will be the need to address the concerns regarding the possible implication of the additional tax burden due to the higher education loans on the taxpayer. The study by Arnett (2018) notes that a significant concern for most of the states is the fact that there have been notable population shifts in the recent years, which will continue to heighten the overall burden on the countries in the process of delivering on the underlying educational needs.
Arnett (2018) recommends the need for mergers, which would, in essence, allow the number of higher education institutions to reduce and therefore also cut on the overall escalated costs. The sizing of the institutions according to Arnett (2018) would be a critical step towards addressing the current burden and dependence on government funding. The article also advises on the possible introduction of the use of performance-based financing of public education as a reasonable approach towards dealing with the current concern around funding. The method according to the author would be critical towards downsizing on the current high levels of spending in the higher education setting and the ability to limit the current high administrative salaries, which continue to affect the overall running of such institutions.
The study by Arnett (2018) therefore presents insights that may be useful towards addressing the concerns on the current substantial financial outlay that such institutions have every year. The approach by Arnett (2018) contradicts the initial view by most scholars on the need to deal with the issue of high education and high funding costs through the reduction of the current funding. The research, by Arnett (2018) pushes for the need to rethink the current spending within such institutions, which will also have a ripple effect on the reduction of the current high cost of education in the middle and long-term.
College Funding
The AASCU Government Relations release recently presented a critical angle on the current issues related to funding in the overall high education context. The report addresses the top ten higher education policy issues within the broader high education context. Notably, one of the critical issues in this report under the authorization of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (2017) is the concern around high education funding influx amide the apparent softening of the various state budgets. In essence, according to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (2017) report, there has been a sluggish pattern in the overall growth of the state budgets amidst an overall projection of future deficits an issue that will continue to affect the overall process of drafting future budget reports for most higher education institutions. The report projects that as states gradually begin to feel the implications of slower revenue inputs, the possible cash crunch on the various institutions of higher education may present a burden in most colleges on how to manage the high-cost needs within such colleges.
The report decries the overall assumption that the managers of these higher educational facilities have been keen on other non-priority issues such as salaries without considering the need also to address the need for cost-cutting in the curse of undertaking the various institutional processes. The report by American Association of State Colleges and Universities (20170 also introduces the question of affordability and the fact that in the current context one of the most urgent issues is the need to address the concern around the level of affordability of high education among students. The report argues that the level of overall student debt in the current context is proportionate to the extent of affordability of high education. The research reveals that higher education has become overly unaffordable an issue that will continue to affect the ability to ensure cost-cutting measures. In the report, it is clear that higher education institutions have been challenged to address the current cost of tuition increases an issue that may have lasting implications on the overall cost of attaining higher education. The recommendations made in this case are related to the need by most of the college administrations to deal with the current extents of constrained budgets by introducing measures such as freezing tuition costs in a way that will be critical towards addressing the current higher tuition costs. The ninth issue in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (2017) discusses the concern around the current student debt and the ability to manage this debt.
The report notes that need to address the issue of debt as an urgent policy issue is based on the fact that there is an increasing number of students who seem to rely entirely on debt as a basis for managing their post-secondary education. In the report, it is clear that there may be a need to focus on the loan forgiveness, loan financing, and other related policies as priorities in the course of addressing the current rates of debt among students. The report was also keen on discussing the extent of literacy among students especially in relations to financial literacy when borrowing such finances. The report also seeks to question the awareness of the various students on the existing debt forgiveness mechanisms and the need to address the risks that surround such instances of high debt burden in the future. Finally, as a means towards dealing with the various concerns around debt burden, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (2017) report addresses the need to introduce policies that can help vulnerable and needy students as a way of reducing the implications of the overall burden on such students in the long –term. The policy recommendations may be critical towards reducing the overall responsibility that such students have even when they do not get employment opportunities immediately after clearing college.
The study may be supported by the recent by Robinson, Morgan, & Reed (2016), which helps the need for the education system to embrace the introduction of disruptive technology the course of undertaking college education, where the public and private colleges work jointly towards introducing technological, approaches that may support the outcomes of cheaper yet more quality outcomes of education. The method may improve the overall extent of debt burden because more students may enroll in the online programs and therefore also reduce the overall need for government subsidies.
The Debate Over Free –College Education
Govindarajan & Desal introduced an essential argument in the year 2013 regarding the possibility of making higher education entirely free. The basis for this argument is due to specific critical observations made over the last two decades. For instance, Govindarajan & Desal (2013) notes that there has been a more than 400% increase in the overall cost of education over time. The report also addresses the issue of student loans in terms of the growing risk of student’s loans and the fact the loan has hit one trillion. The report by Govindarajan & Desal (2013) reveals that there is a problem when dealing with the debt concerns that have accumulated over time to almost $ 200, 000 which is virtually impossible to handle for any student. According to the study by Govindarajan & Desal (2013), it is more complicated that even while these students accumulate such extents of debt in the course of achieving higher education, it is likely that they will not find employment opportunities in the immediate terms an issue that limits their ability to repay such loans. Govindarajan & Desal (2013) argue that the most significant problem in the current context is the fact that there may be an aspect of overspending, which in essence limits the outcomes of cost saving in the long-term.
The study discusses the issue of the reduction of the lecture expenses as one of the ways of dealing with the current extents of burden in the cost management of higher education. According to the scholars, one of the more needful actions may be the need to address the introduction of technological innovations as a means towards dealing with the current extents of debts accumulated by students. However, even then, the study questions the worth of the current college education and the degree to which the students end up collecting such extents of debts in the course of servicing educational loans that do not seem to present the anticipated returns. The research by Govindarajan & Desal (2013) pokes holes at the current application of GPAs as a means towards assessing potential employees. The assertion is meant to begin a conversation around the value of the ongoing education and the fact that despite the emphasis on the cost of such education student barely get employment opportunities upon graduation. The review of the literature by Zemsky (2013) reveals that the reason the current college education structure leads to limited work opportunities is due to the focus on tuition and permanence and rarely on the need to prepare such students towards becoming marketable in the job markets. The critic questions the role of such an expensive college education where ten years after graduation the students still struggle to find a way to thrive in a volatile economy.
The paper discusses the idea of a free college education based on the emergence of modern education models, which are keener on the students’ value at the end of the course than on the anticipated cost of education. Govindarajan & Desal (2013) address the role of programs such as Cousera audacity in the promotion of free online college courses and the implication it has on the overall outcomes of education in the long term while also reducing the overall cost of such high education. Govindarajan & Desal (2013) project that in the foreseeable future there may be a general turn around in the overall cost of education. The scholars note that while college degrees will not be outrightly free, the process of acquiring such degrees will be observable free, due to the availability of such online alternatives. Oreopoulos & Petronijevic (2013), notes the need to ensure that these college programs are worth it and not just a formality.
The assumption overrides the previous view that college education was expensive and therefore needed to cost such extents of debts and losses to those acquiring the education. In essence, based on this argument, the authors question the impediments to free education and the possibility that these impediments may be manmade in order to limit the success of the current push towards the regulation of college education as a measure towards addressing the rise in the cases of debt by students who are unable to clear such loans upon the completion of their education. Sun & Xiufang (2016) support the idea of introducing online studies as a means towards reducing the overall implications of the additional cost of undertaking physical college classes among the students.
The study by Chan (2016) introduces an essential dynamic in the discussion on college subsidies and the role of policies in addressing the issue. According to the article, there are a variety of problems that will continue to affect the outcomes of education in the broader academic context. One of the issues according to the research is the dramatic rise in the case of for-profit entities that seem to have a lasting implication on the outcome of college education and the impartation of critical life-related skills. The scholars note that over the last few decades both a public college education and private higher learning have become so commercialized to the extent that it has become impossible to address the primary concerns around the quality of education. According to the research, there ought to be an extent of balance in the overall outcomes of higher education as a way of ensuring that the social and economic benefits of graduation with a college degree are notable. The article notes that government subsidies towards college education are important because they offer a platform on which to achieve an education, especially among needy students.
However, Chan takes offense with the reality that the government continues to fail in the ability to regulate such college education in a way that reduces the overall cost of such degrees while enhancing the value of such education upon graduation. The scholars note that there is an underlying failure by critical stakeholders in the education system to derail the overall overhauling of the system with the aim of fast-tracking the process of reviewing the current educational system. The article seems to also focus on the need to assess the cost-benefit of the current system as a means towards understanding the value of the education. Perhaps, this view is similar to the one adopted by Govindarajan & Desal (2013), which argues that as long as there lacks a clear understanding of the cost benefit that the current system has on the students after spending significant amounts of money, then there may be a need to overhaul the system. In the article, the cardinal benefits include the individual’s economic value in the job market after going through education and the social cost which is the ability to survive outside the college setting based on the skills and the competencies that such individuals develop over time.
Conclusion
The review of literature reveals a variety of critical issues. The first is the reality that the current education system has become overly expensive over time due to hefty salaries and other non-priority costs. The review questions the ability of the current education system to guarantee social and economic benefits of the clients upon their graduation. Further, the research raises the need to address the current role of technology in the course of shaping the outcomes of cheaper education. On the same note, this research also assesses the cost and benefits concerns if the cost of education was to become free in the age of technology. However, the review also notes the need to ensure that the outcomes of education focus on individual competencies.