Essay: The value of a degree

You’re a parent, enrolling your child into grade school and it is no surprise you are setting up your child for an academic career, although the worry of rising tuition may not be something new, the scale of worry is. Education is overall valued and merely expected for everyone growing up in America. Simultaneously society believes support should be provided to the education system. The amount of contribution, aspects of education, alongside allocation of funds is what becomes a controversial topic. According to insidehighered.com (Ashley A. Smith), “Net prices for full-time students at public four-year institutions have increased for eight straight years, for seven straight years for students at public two-year colleges, and for six straight years for those at private nonprofit colleges and universities. So, the typical student keeps paying more for college each year.” Although the increase has been subtly low every couple years, they amount on a larger, longer scale. This is a recurring issue since the approximate 1980’s when higher education began to increase in the United States.  A few constraints in the prices of higher education are tax fiscal expenditures, and legislative policies affecting the education system. Delving into a few things whether post-secondary education should be free, and increasing federal contribution in education will help to further understand the affordability of tuitions in higher education. Another constraint to achieving a more equal affordable opportunity for higher education, is that the opposed party believes it is far too expensive to maintain and can lead to an increase in taxes to society. Other legislative policies and congressional politicians restrict any progression for accessible higher education due to the reallocation of GDP funds and much more. Congress plays a very important role in the operations of colleges and universities and any slight decision can really make a turn for those participating members in society. Exigence in this issue are the millions of students enrolled in grade school, college in route to pursue a degree. If we are unable to equip our upcoming leading generation to a successful future of innovation and leadership, what can we expect for the future of this country? It is important to consider that although the opposing and for the party will never likely come to a single resolution for the “best” way to fund the education system, one thing we can all agree on is the importance of an educated society.
The government supports the schooling system through subsidized education programs and accounts for the funding of education in its annual budget. In hopes of providing the opportunity to those who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford it, a higher education and better quality of life. While many believe the importance of subsidization is necessary, some view the subsidization of education a contradiction within itself.  The opposed party worries of its undervalue and mass credential production creating an unbalanced society leaving fewer blue collar workers. An article from Independent Review addresses this stance stating, “During the past half-century, the conventional view of American education has held that the nation needs more college graduates and that increasing the rates of college attendance and completion should be a national goal, advanced and subsidized by the federal government …This idea has reshaped higher education in the United States in a very short historical period, turning what was a guild-like activity into an industry for mass-producing credentials (Bankston, 2011, p. 325). Bankston emphasized the vast increase of expectations for its people to thrive in higher education, however, he delves the conception that due to the U.S government subsidizing higher education programs, simultaneously producing an increasing level of education and as stated above, an unbalanced meet of demanding workforce. Leading to an undervalued appreciation of a graduate degree, and a financial dependent society on its federal government. While agreeing to the importance of education, it is also important to understand the economic needs of a functional country. I agree the value of a degree should be kept high and appreciated. It represents more than what it states to be and is a stepping stone in life, undervaluing its worth can be contradicting and more of a step back than one forward.