My Thoughts on a Particular Paragraph from the Proposed 2018 U.S. Federal Budget for Education

There are twenty-two educational programs proposed to be eliminated in the 2018 federal budget. Sixteen more than in 2016 and twenty more than in the 2017 budget. The proposed programs to be eliminated are spread across primary, secondary, and higher education. While this could still change, some of these cuts are probably justified. And some of the same programs proposed to be eliminated were also listed in the 2016 and 2017 budgets. So, I do not think this calls for outrage or alarm in any way. Still, I think it is noteworthy. I am not trying to defend them here or explore why these programs should not be cut. Instead, I want to explore some of the rhetoric in the 2018 budget, particularly this paragraph, under the subtitle, “Increase Higher Education Accountability,” since it has not appeared in previous budgets (at least not in the '16 and '17 budgets):

“Earning a college degree is one of the most important investments students can make in their future and remains a gateway to the middle class. Federal student grants and loans play a key role in helping students afford to enroll in and successfully complete college. However, some colleges lack adequate incentives to support their students in graduating, finding a good job, and repaying their loans. A better system would create shared responsibility for success among students, schools, and the Federal Government to ensure students do not take on debt that they cannot afford to repay—leaving taxpayers on the hook for the costs of loan default or forgiveness. The Administration looks forward to working with Congress to address these issues.” (p. 25)

This seems like a good idea at first glance. The subtitle suggests accountability is lacking in areas of paying for a college education, graduating, and finding a job. Now, is this true across the board in higher education? There are, after all, over 1,500 accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. How will this accountability be distributed? And what kind of accountability? For instance, the Southern Accreditation of College and Schools (SACS), which focuses on accrediting and improving schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Latin America (Extraterritorial), and SACS CASI accredits primary, middle, and secondary schools in the deep south, address some of these issues when accreditation time comes up. The U.S. Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), along with AdvancED, is also responsible for accrediting schools.

I realize that the question of accreditation does not necessarily address what is being mentioned in the paragraph. Still, the rhetoric suggests a focus on the kinds of programs, curriculum, and instruction in place within higher education. The term “adequate incentives” is also interesting since what incentives exist that are “inadequate.” Have they been determined? I was unaware that colleges and universities were responsible for student debt and finding a job.

I do not want to sound cruel here, but all of the years that I spent in college not once did I expect the school to help me figure out my debt. I also did not expect the college or university to help me locate work based on my coursework or degree. I graduated with my PhD in 2013, so it has not been that long ago. Paying off my debt and finding work was up to me to figure out. It was up to me to apply my knowledge, the skills I developed over the years, and my own initiative to find lucrative employment.

Also, this is misleading since many colleges and universities do offer assistance, resources, and counseling in these areas. I have discussed this before in a response I posted here on Minds.com addressing Jordan B. Peterson's idea to create a program to weed out postmodernist professors in academia (the video I responded to is titled "Sorting Yourself Out" on Stefan Molyneux's YouTube channel ... here is that response https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/738811948790980608 ). So, there already exists a “shared responsibility” between schools and students in addressing these topics … now the government? Well, that is another story in itself. They seem to be the “invisible ones” over the years on these matters mentioned in the above cited paragraph. So, in this sense, maybe it is a good idea that they play a more meaningful role in the funding of higher education and in students transitioning between college and the workforce (as I said, though, the transitioning aspect is already being done … could it be done better? probably … that goes for many things, though…).

Many colleges and universities do receive public funding. How much do they receive, though? I suppose to some any public funding is too much and they might be correct. Something to note is that many public universities and colleges have started to receive less taxpayer’s dollars since the early 1970s, and have started to rely on other forms of funding from within the community, endowments, and donations from privately-owned businesses.

In my opinion, there is much more being stated here than what is written. I can almost sense some of the rhetoric from communities on the Internet, particularly those stemming from various YouTube channels. But that is pure speculation, right? Surely this is my imagination. I admit that there does stand room for improvement in higher education and the cost of a college degree is too expensive for many people.

Here is something else to consider. Exactly where will this accountability fall within the academic realm? What discipline?

I suggest viewing my video, “Education as a Transaction” as well - https://youtu.be/KB7GL2-zrfo 

And my involvement in the ProMod grant project at ASU - https://youtu.be/yxZ8TD12BTU 

Sources

Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Summary and Background Information. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget18/summary/18summary.pdf 

Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Summary and Background Information. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget17/summary/17summary.pdf 

Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Summary and Background Information. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/summary/16summary.pdf