Should a college education be free in America?

1. 78

   Emayordomoposted 12 years ago

   Should a college education be free in America?

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2. 61

   mmsuposted 12 years ago

   High school is free,so college fees is probably right.Community colleges are a good option for people who do not earn that much!

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3. 65

   Rosana Modugnoposted 12 years ago

   Yes, I believe it should.  Education should be handed to each of us like water.  Education is what will make or break the planet.  Can you imagine what this world would be like if we all had free education, college?  We would be riding in our Jetson airmobiles and jet packs by now. lol

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4. 81

   junksellerposted 12 years ago

   Yes and no. With a stale economy such as we have it wouldn't make much sense. What good is a Bachelor's degree if you can't even get a job at McDonalds? If, however, we went the Green Party route and actually valued human beings and created and built an economy which granted full employment, than free education would provide a worthwhile return on the investment.

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5. 60

   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   I'd love to say yes, but the financially concerned part of me says - who would pay for it?  A campus, buildings, professors, books, all of those things cost money or need to be paid to make a living.  Who would pay for that? 
   
   The average joe would end up taxed to death trying to educate the masses.

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6. 67

   LandmarkWealthposted 12 years ago

   Nothing is free.  It must be paid for either directly or indirectly.  The free public schools have my property taxes around 11k per year.  70% of that funds education.  The reason it's so expensive is that the gov't provides it.  Any service in which the gov't provides inevitably cost more, just through a different revenue source.  Since education is important the only solution for improved quality and lower cost is the voucher system for K-12
   
   However, In terms of college the notion that it's free is somewhat a waste.  College is not for everyone.  Some are better off in trade schools for example.  Do we then also have to cover the cost of my plumbers apprentice training, and then also pay him again to fix the leak in my kitchen.

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7. 72

   lburmasterposted 12 years ago

   I don't entirely believe so. Just at a better cost. The best education that I ever had was at a community college. A 3 credit class cost $244. Best learning experience I ever had. Much better than the university where I am now. Here a 3 credit class costs $1000! I love community college for the price and same education as a university. I'm remaining at the community college for my second degree there.

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8. 70

   connorjposted 12 years ago

   I think it would be a significant mistake to make it absolutely free; however, I would consider reducing its expense based on certain criteria which may include (1) high GPA, (2) significant service to state, government or church (i know this is a proverbial can of worms), (3) military service. There may indeed be a few other areas to include...

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9. 0

   Elizabeth Dorssomposted 12 years ago

   Yes, but at some sort of cost to the students. I think students should receive a free university education if they are willing to work at least 20 hours a week in an on-campus job. That way, the students are technically still working to receive a free education.

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10. 0

    HowIConqueredposted 12 years ago

    No, because who's going to pay for it? And how will the quality be? If America can barely handle the cost and quality of public school education how can it handle free college? I don't know about where you live but in the state I live in, education costs and quality is an issue in every school district every year here. And with a family full of educators and school aged children I get to hear about even more (accurate) issues first hand. So no, I'm against free college simply because I know it will be a huge problem and burden on everyone. On the other hand, it would be awesome, but unrealistic. As a college graduate who recently finished with way too much debt, I'm all for cheap high quality education. I believe universities/colleges should be charging less than one third of what they are charging now and should cut unnecessary classes that won't help their students get a job but only serve the purpose of broadening their horizons from their mandatory curriculum. The classes can stay, but shouldn't be mandatory depending on the career fields each student is opting to follow. I'm all for quality trade schools as well as regular colleges that will train future students for real jobs so when the economy does get better we have qualified people to work the returning/new work opportunities. Cheap college, not free college is what I hope for.

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11. 82

    tamarawilhiteposted 12 years ago

    No. People should be educated by the taxpayer to the point that they are productive, which is generally high school level.
    If college were free, it would become a refuge from work, with many people going to school to party, paid for by those who work. Actually, many people ran up a trillion dollars of student loan debt using college to hide from the work place or earn useless degrees while partying. If people had to pay for college, either up front or over a lifetime, they would not take useless classes, use college to explore the world (at considerable taxpayer expense) or waste time.

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