Out of Control?

And what is the solution? All the evidence points to sky-rocketing costs, surging ever higher and higher. How do we bring it All back down to earth?

The problem is that we are not managing the driver for these costs, credential inflation. Loans, tuition costs, all these are simply tracking the loss of value of degrees.

A column in the Wall Street Journal recently pondered “Why It Takes a Doctorate To Beat Inflation” (October 19, 2006; Page A2). According to David Wessel, “... [G]etting a bachelor’s degree is no longer a guarantee of raises big enough to beat inflation. Although the best-paid college grads are doing well, wages of college grads have fallen on average, after adjusting for inflation, in the past five years. The only group that enjoyed rising wages between 2000 and 2005 were the small slice with [JD, MD, MBA] graduate degrees.” Those with masters degrees, however, lost %1.8; those with PhDs gained %2.9. In relation to monetary inflation, college degrees have recently begun to experience a gradual but noticeable devaluation.

No one, not one educational foundation has started to look at this problem, let alone recommend policy that would help to manage it. This may not be possible, but we have no choice than to attempt it.

Glen McGhee, FHEAP, at 9:25 am EST on December 8, 2006

What it takes to get a Ph.D.

The person who said you can get a Ph.D. with only time and money was an idiot. False modesty among academics nauseates me. You must be smarter than average to finish promptly and do work that will get you a tenure track job. Permitting people who are not smart to slug away at doctorates for 8-12 yrs is abusive, in my opinion. Pretending that those who write mediocre dissertations will get tenure-track jobs is also abusive. In my field, if your dissertation doesn’t yield several journal articles, you will have no change of being hired, much less attaining tenure, even at a teaching institution. When we encourage untalented individuals to pursue doctoral study, we encourage false hopes that will produce the kind of bitterness I read every day in the comment section here. It isn’t worth the time and money to pursue a doctorate if you aren’t smart because you will go nowhere in academia with your degree unless you have brains.

Perry, at 8:35 pm EST on December 9, 2006

I have taught for 25 years. During that time I earned an artists performance diploma, a BS in education, an MFA, and a PhD. I borrowed for them all. I paid off all of my student loans except for the one I am currently paying for, the PhD. I have never had a job in academia because I could never afford to support my family on the meager wages paid by the colleges. Recently, I was offered a position at my local Community College. The hours were great, the job was perfect for me and they knew it. When I asked about pay, I found that the top pay offered for the job was $20,000 less than the public middle school teacher who was teaching the same subject in the building next door. At some point we need to realize that the educational demands placed upon individuals who want to teach in college are simply too high, too costly, and too time consuming for the return.

Ken, at 6:20 pm EST on December 10, 2006

Ph.D.’s in Debt

Like any investment you would expect a good Return on the Investment (ROI), if the ROI is not justifiable then don’t do make the investment. Most people who decided to earn a Ph.D. did it to challenge themselves not for the money, and obviously academics is a wrong place to look for money.

The demand for Ph.D.’s outside academics (Industries, Corporations and Research institutes and Government) continue to be good and so is the salary, unless colleges and universities step up their game and become competitive, the brightest and the best will not go into academics.

Ben Kukoyi,Ph.D. (Candidate), Assistant Professor/Clinical Scientist, at 5:05 am EST on December 11, 2006

Linda,

Perry’s comments are out of line, but in reference to your debt, I would restate my point, which does not imply that you’re an idiot or anything else. It’s about financial choices. The reason for your debt is not that the funding system for graduate school is horribly bad, but rather that you made the choice to go to graduate school while supporting a family, and it seems (from your comments) that you attended a program without financial support.

I admire your persistence and your willingness to take on great debt under very difficult circumstances, but you’re not a victim of that debt- you chose it several times (applying to an unfunded program, perhaps choosing a car that was beyond your means, etc.). The grad school funding system is more than sufficient, even generous, for people in situations closer to the average for incoming students (no family to support alone, no health emergencies). Many schools even offer benefits like child care, health insurance, and cheap family housing to grad students- if you chose a school without these benefits, that’s fine, but it’s still your choice.

QuakerProf, at 5:20 pm EST on December 11, 2006

student loans

When the DOE endorses books about careers and the books color a picture projecting a great career outlook but then after graduating you find out that the career outlook is in reality bismol. Then there is something wrong. The system is like a social program going into it aimed to help the poor and financially challenged. But then immediately upon graduation, these generous and helpful people turn into ruthless bill collectors. Who has a job when they get out of college? Who understands how this system works. We go to college because we are ignorant and want an education. And that is exactly what we get. Our first lesson is that we have been duped by a system that funds their colleges, makes them filty rich, and you pay for it. So instead of ending the cycle of poverty it makes sure that you have no money to give your children all the advantages that you didnt have. And then, you get to wear a “Scarlet letter” for the rest of your life as you struggle to stay ahead of the ruthless and unethical, not to mention inhumane and immoral collection agencies and policies. Which by the way are owned by the same people who lend you the money. No lending institution in America nor does any collection institution have the benefits and powers that these student loans collectors have. It simply is not civilized and it is un American.Never since the Revolutionary War have Americans felt the oppressive powers of rich “robber barons” ie, Sallie Mae, than we have today with a system which was intended to help the very people it destroys.

kyle hombs, at 5:45 am EST on February 8, 2007