Earlier this year, Perry proposed that State Public Institutions offer a $10,000 Bachelor's Degree. Considering I already have $10,000 racked up in Student Loans, and I'm not even done with my Associates Degree, I must say this is a tempting proposal to support. However, after a little more research, I've deemed it extremely unrealistic.
Currently, Bachelor's Degrees cost over $31,000 for 4 years, not including books. Even if the entire Bachlor's degree is offered online, there are still professors that have to grade the papers, respond to student e-mails, and develop the coursework. Some argue that there is nothing wrong with having grad students grade the work and using published lectures as the basis for the class. If it's a literature course, then instead of using books that are still under copyright, use books that are not and sell for extremely low costs. As tempting as this sounds, as a student, I would not take these classes regardless of how cheap they were. I also have to question how effective these courses are. I'm currently in 2 online courses, and the difference between them is remarkable. My Texas Government class has a teacher that sends out weekly e-mails, has the class interact online through discussion boards, and write a blog. My other course, Introduction to Theater, has a teacher that never sends out e-mails except to confirm the receipt of our 2 play analysis. There aren't even reminders about when our tests are due. Everything we are learning is through the book. Personally, I don't think I'm retaining any of the information past the test. I do not think that online courses using published lectures would be effective. Students need some interaction with the professor and with others in the course.
College is not only about learning, its a time to meet new people, interact with others, and develop socially. If everything was offered online, people would lose their social skills even more than they have already with the rise of texting and emailing. Students already have issues interacting with people, and it shows when they get out into the workforce. If the opportunity to meet and interact with people in college is taken away, I can't even imagine how that would effect people even more.
Don't get me wrong, a $10,000 bachelor's degree would be fabulous to offer, but maybe for people that have already worked in the field and are just coming back to get their credentials. If they stripped down the required courses for a degree, and get rid of the core classes that most people take in the first 2 years of college, I have no doubt that the Texas Public Institutions would have any difficulty getting the price to $10,000. If someone has already been working in the field for 5+ years, and just needs the degree to check off a box in order to move up, there's no reason they should have to take the basics. They have already earned their respect in the workforce, it's just this one task that is keeping them from advancing. If this type of degree was offered, it should come with prerequisites. There are already certifications that have these types of requirements, such as the Certified Meeting Planner. The CMP certification requires the meeting planner must have a minimum of three years professional meeting planning experience or two years work experience with a specific meeting planning degree. There is no reason that a stripped down Bachelor's degree couldn't have the same type of requirements.
As where I think that offering a normal Bachelor's degree for $10,000 is absurd, I see no reason why a stripped down version of a Bachelor's degree could not be offered to those that already have work experience in the field that they are coming back to get their degree in. Online courses in this situation would make sense because the students would more than likely be working full-time while taking classes, and they already have background knowledge that will help them with their coursework.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Allowing Concealed Handguns on a University Campus
Is a huge mistake.
With the amount of drinking and stress that goes on during college years, having a lethal weapon readily available to students is only asking for trouble. If State Representative Eddie Rodriguez
succeeds in having Universities allow firearms on campus, I foresee an increase in suicides, an increase in accidental shootings, and an increase in crazed gunmans roaming around campus randomly shooting people.
I cannot think of one good reason why students would need a firearm on campus. Robert Miller of Villanova University argues that he would want certain students to be able to carry firearms in the case of a crazed gunman roaming campus. I agree that having someone ready to take a predator down is fabulous. However, the likelihood of an increase in these shootings, or an increase in deaths and injuries due to guns being on campus, makes me argue that even that is not a good reason to allow possession on campus. Miller also points out that the argument against being able to carry handguns on campus is weak. Many people, including myself, think that there will be an increase in shootings. He states that there is no reason why law-abiding individuals who already carry guns elsewhere in the state, would suddenly turn to being reckless with them. However, he then continues to contradict his argument stating that there are some places that cause normal law-abiding citizens to become more dangerous, such as in bars. He doesn't think there is anything on a college campus that would cause that, but has he forgotten his college years? Multiple all-nighters in a week would cause anyone to go crazy. Drinking at a Frat Party is sometimes worse than at a bar because there isn't a bartender or bouncer to cut you off. Bullies on campus could push people over all the time. The pure stress of midterms and finals is enough to make anyone snap.
According to the Austin American Statesman, there are laws in place that government officials are arguing over, and interpreting differently. I think it will ultimately come down to the individual universities deciding whether or not to allow guns on campus. I just hope that they take into consideration that they have hormone driven teenagers as a large percentage of their population, and I hope that they do not underestimate how much stress and alcohol effect people's ability to think clearly and rationally.
With the amount of drinking and stress that goes on during college years, having a lethal weapon readily available to students is only asking for trouble. If State Representative Eddie Rodriguez
succeeds in having Universities allow firearms on campus, I foresee an increase in suicides, an increase in accidental shootings, and an increase in crazed gunmans roaming around campus randomly shooting people.
I cannot think of one good reason why students would need a firearm on campus. Robert Miller of Villanova University argues that he would want certain students to be able to carry firearms in the case of a crazed gunman roaming campus. I agree that having someone ready to take a predator down is fabulous. However, the likelihood of an increase in these shootings, or an increase in deaths and injuries due to guns being on campus, makes me argue that even that is not a good reason to allow possession on campus. Miller also points out that the argument against being able to carry handguns on campus is weak. Many people, including myself, think that there will be an increase in shootings. He states that there is no reason why law-abiding individuals who already carry guns elsewhere in the state, would suddenly turn to being reckless with them. However, he then continues to contradict his argument stating that there are some places that cause normal law-abiding citizens to become more dangerous, such as in bars. He doesn't think there is anything on a college campus that would cause that, but has he forgotten his college years? Multiple all-nighters in a week would cause anyone to go crazy. Drinking at a Frat Party is sometimes worse than at a bar because there isn't a bartender or bouncer to cut you off. Bullies on campus could push people over all the time. The pure stress of midterms and finals is enough to make anyone snap.
According to the Austin American Statesman, there are laws in place that government officials are arguing over, and interpreting differently. I think it will ultimately come down to the individual universities deciding whether or not to allow guns on campus. I just hope that they take into consideration that they have hormone driven teenagers as a large percentage of their population, and I hope that they do not underestimate how much stress and alcohol effect people's ability to think clearly and rationally.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)