Higher Tuition For an Engineering Degree

i_like_spam writes "The NYTimes is running a story about a new trend in tuition charges at public universities throughout the country. Differential pricing schemes are being implemented, whereby majors in engineering and business pay higher tuition rates than majors in arts and humanities. Last year, for instance, engineering majors at the University of Nebraska starting paying an extra $40 per credit hour. One argument in support of differential pricing is that professors in engineering and business are more expensive than in other fields. Officials at schools that are implementing differential pricing are aware of some of the downsides. A dean at Iowa State said he 'thought society was no longer looking at higher education as a common good but rather as a way for individuals to increase their earning power.' And a University of Kansas provost said, 'Where we have gone astray culturally is that we have focused almost exclusively on starting salary as an indicator of... the value of the particular major.'"

Comments

Engineering ain't cheap

[backwardMechanic]

Well, like it or not, a humanities degree is cheap compared to engineering or science. All that lab equipment (and space) costs money, not to mention the people who set it up and keep it running. I'm not saying I agree with differential pricing, I'm just pointing out the costs.

Re:Chem labs cost money:

[pavon]

Yeah, but at most schools that is taken care of by lab fees, which I am sure they are going to continue to charge after raising tuition rates. This seems more like raising prices just because they think they can get away with it.

I was just looking at this yesterday...

[Saxophonist]

Some of the differentials are enormous at the university I attend (pdf link):

• Resident tuition, Graduate School: $4,870/semester
• Software engineering, first year (resident or non-resident): $6,510/semester
• Management of Technology master's (resident or non-resident): $14,000/semester
• Executive M.B.A. (resident or non-resident): $20,625/semester

Thankfully, I have no aspirations to become management, and I just take classes in the CS department (I'm a doctoral student in music)...

Re:Too late.

[Grishnakh]

The youngest generation is fucked, that's why.

Seriously, there's a major entitlement problem with younger Americans these days. They seem to think they're entitled to being multimillionaires, but they're not willing to do the work necessary to achieve that.

However, I do wonder how representative your sample set is. I'm a little older (graduated college in '97), but I was at a state university (Virginia Tech) and I don't remember meeting anyone with that kind of attitude. It might be something limited to the overpriced private schools.

Re:flush toilets/sewage systems

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow. You're nuts.

Ah-hemmm.

[WindBourne]

GWB

... graduated from Yale in 1968 with a B.A. in History .
Reagan earned a BA degree in 1932 from Eureka (Ill.) College, where a photographic memory aided in his studies and in debating and college theatricals.

OTH, the last president to keep us out of war was Jimmy Carter:
received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946...graduate work at Union College in reactor technology and nuclear physics, In fact, you will find that most presidents that kept us out of war had really served in the military (not fake like W), and typically had a science/engineering degree.

As to lack of books, well, a simple Google once in a while would work just as well for you. You may find out more than you think.

Indian Numbering System

[ChromaticDragon]

It should be painfully obvious the author is Indian discussing Indian upper education. As such, it should be expected he'd use Indian Numbering rather than what you're used to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_numbering_syst em

Please take a bit to educate yourself with regards to lakh and crore so you won't mistake his approach as mistaken.

Oh... And someone please mod grandparent Informative now that I cannot.

Re:Chem labs cost money:

[porcupine8]

To be fair, the Ivies are making efforts in this department. When I was in college, I knew a guy who knew that the reason he didn't get into Harvard (via a friend in the admissions dept) was that they couldn't give him the amount of financial aid he'd need. Harvard, along with most (if not all) the other Ivies, have since moved to need-blind admissions and worked to up their need-based financial aid.

(Of course, they're all way behind my alma mater, MIT. My family made about the same as tuition; I had a need-based family contribution of $0 and most of my need was met through grants. MIT has always prided itself on having lots of first-generation college students and students from blue-collar families. I've also heard that the main advantage being a legacy gets you in admissions is that if you're going to be deferred or rejected, they give your application a second look and notify your parents by personal phone call to break the news.)