What should we know about the state of higher education?
- September 12, 2012
By Marie McIntosh
Our parent organization, the Center for Investigative Reporting, recently asked people to share their higher education expertise through a Public Insight Network query. Several people responded, sharing their unique experiences and ideas for solutions for problems folks face when it comes to eligibility and paying for school.
We asked people whether there was anything in particular we should know about higher ed. The responses, which came in from across the country, were especially interesting. Here, we want to share some of them with you. California's higher education system has been under fire recently, as administrative costs and tuition continue to rise. What would you do to address these issues?
Rob Rawson of Flower Mound, Texas, has bachelor's and master's degrees from two local state-funded colleges – UC Berkeley and CSU East Bay. He said:
"President Lyndon Johnson was quoted as saying something like, 'If you think the cost of education is high, wait 'til you see the cost of ignorance.' Many of us seem eager to exploit every natural resource with which this country has been blessed, from fossil fuels to fisheries. Why would the human intellect available to us be exempt from development? The world, as ever, faces grave problems. We should provide as many people as possible with the tools to help solve them."