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Michael Bloomberg Donates Record $1.8 Billion To Johns Hopkins University; Donation Will Be Devoted Exclusively To Undergraduate Financial Aid (go.com)
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University. The gift is believed to be the largest ever to an academic institution. The money is earmarked for scholarships and grants for undergraduate students from low and middle-income families, Mr. Bloomberg, 76, said through a press release. The gift will enable Johns Hopkins to become one of just a handful of need-blind schools -- meaning students will be considered for admission regardless of their ability to pay. Currently, 44% of Johns Hopkins students graduate with some form of debt averaging $24,000. From a report: As a direct result of the endowment, Johns Hopkins will be able to permanently commit to "need-blind admissions," which will admit the highest-achieving students from all backgrounds, regardless of their ability to pay, according to the university. In addition, the Baltimore-based school will be able to offer no-loan financial aid packages, reduce contributions for families who qualify for financial aid, provide "comprehensive student support," and increase the enrollment of Pell grant eligible students, which will "build a more socioeconomically diverse student body," Johns Hopkins said in a statement. In an op-ed published in The New York Times, Bloomberg wrote: America is at its best when we reward people based on the quality of their work, not the size of their pocketbook. Denying students entry to a college based on their ability to pay undermines equal opportunity. It perpetuates intergenerational poverty. And it strikes at the heart of the American dream: the idea that every person, from every community, has the chance to rise based on merit.
I was lucky: My father was a bookkeeper who never made more than $6,000 a year. But I was able to afford Johns Hopkins University through a National Defense student loan, and by holding down a job on campus. My Hopkins diploma opened up doors that otherwise would have been closed, and allowed me to live the American dream. I have always been grateful for that opportunity. I gave my first donation to Hopkins the year after I graduated: $5. It was all I could afford. Since then, I've given the school $1.5 billion to support research, teaching and financial aid.
I was lucky: My father was a bookkeeper who never made more than $6,000 a year. But I was able to afford Johns Hopkins University through a National Defense student loan, and by holding down a job on campus. My Hopkins diploma opened up doors that otherwise would have been closed, and allowed me to live the American dream. I have always been grateful for that opportunity. I gave my first donation to Hopkins the year after I graduated: $5. It was all I could afford. Since then, I've given the school $1.5 billion to support research, teaching and financial aid.
if you cant admit students regardless of their ability to pay otherwise known as NORMAL
The school will now probably start charging higher tuition fees.
Ezekiel 23:20
Now how about we restore the lost federal and state funding that was cut by this country's right wing politicians (from both parties, Yes, I'm calling out the Clinton Democrats here too)?
I like my schools to be independent, not begging for scraps from billionaires.
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...the 1.6 billion $ lottery
All this does is encourage prices to continue to go up, even more so than student loans.
In usa just about any one can get a student loan even at schools like trump-u
Do we need admissions to be that blind?
What about somebody who gets 90% on their tests but their parents fund them and pay for a private tutor vs
A person who gets 80% on their tests but also works two jobs to cover living expenses and fees?
It's turtles all the way down.
because he perceives a lack of available education. At least in theory. Restoring the state funding would go a lot further to fixing that.
Read the article I linked to. Very little of the increased cost of education is because of increased overhead. It's almost all down to decreased funding from the fed/state.
And there's nothing special about those "pols" (?, do you mean proletariat?). Taken in aggregate poor folks aren't any dumber than rich folks. What you're seeing is people with limited information who are doing bad economically looking for a solution and billionaire's media outlets (Fox News, Sinclair Media, Right wing Talk Radio) pushing a plausitive narrative.
If you want folks to stop falling for that snake oil the solution is more education. During the 2016 campaign there were interviews with folks making good money off fake news to drive page views and ads. It was almost 100% right wing fake news and when asked the folks running the sites were candid about why: when they tried left wing fake news it got shot down as B.S. in no time. That's not because right wing folks are dumber, it's because left wing folks have generally had more education and education teaches critical thinking.
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The problem is that the education bureaucracies are like sponges. Pouring more money in just causes them to spend more on their own purposes. Which often are only tangential to undergrad education.
Clinton Democrats OTOH did not.
Folks keep mixing up the right wing of the Democratic party with the left. They are not.
For example, Nancy Pelosi is not a member of the left. The actual left is currently trying to oust her from her speakership, and they tried to primary her but she had so much cash she buried her primary challenger.
Listen to Bernie. To Liz Warren. To Ro Khanna. They're the left, and they're trying to unite the working class for better pay, universal, guaranteed as a right healthcare, clean air and water and worker's rights.
You're right about the Clinton Democrats though. They behave like the GOP 90% of the time, so the only thing they've got to run on is phony social issues. Like the actual GOP all they've got is identity politics and fat sacks of cash from their donors. Don't fall for it. There's a real left, and they're the party of the working class.
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but you're suspicions are incorrect. Best case scenario useless bloat drops the price of college 10%, see article I linked to above.
And tax payers should either start funding it or start supporting Hilary Clinton's open borders. Otherwise we're not going to have the workers needed to keep your 401k solvent in time for you to retire. Like it or not those adults need economic growth in order to maintain their quality of life. Without an educated population we're not gonna have that growth. Say good by to Social Security and Medicare too. And say hello to Purina Brand Dog chow for dinner in your 60s.
I'm just kidding, you think you'll be able to afford the name brand stuff?
Oh, and get ready for the Gulags. See, what do you suppose is going to happen when you have tens of millions of unemployable men in their 20s and 30s who can't balance an equation but can hold a rifle?
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What stops Johns Hopkins from raising their tuition on incoming students by the interest on the endowment (or more)? This would leave students exactly where they were, which the market has proven it would bear. After all, they have to maintain their competitive position...
This money would be much better spent on bribing politicians in congress to solve this problem legislatively. Same as with healthcare, if there's no upper bound on how much money can be wasted on administration, underwater basketweaving courses that produce solely McDonalds employees, "organic" caffes, facilities, etc, then there will be no upper bound on tuition. Put an upper bound on administrative expenses at the very least in state schools, and possibly in private ones as well. Refocus higher ed on actual education rather than activism. Put structures in place under which companies would find it attractive to fund higher ed for in-demand professions in exchange to access to top talent pool universities produce. Stuff like that. Be creative. Just giving them $1.8B is pointless and temporary.
Having "two jobs" is not an academic skill.
.
Why should a person who put in the effort not get a place on merit?
They sit exams and tests, worked hard and know how to study?
Should a university fill up with students who get "80%" but get allowed in for reasons other than merit?
75%? 65%? How low can that academic side slide to cover for a "person" who "works two jobs"?
What happens when a student who can't/won't study gets into face the tests and exams a year or two into university?
They cant study, cant pass their exams, take keep up with the students who can study?
Give them a free pass so they as a "works two jobs" person can stay on campus for free for a few more years to learn how to study?
What about all the students who did not get accepted but had great study skills? Who had a "private tutor" and would have done really well?
Attempts like that got made in the US mil under Project 100,000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
All the US mil had to do was find people to look after the people who would have failed to enter the mil under normal testing.
Filling up the best US universities with people who cant study will not result in better graduates.
Keeping people who can study out on the best universities for people who cant study wont improve US wide academic results.
A skilled person should be ready to study and not be getting 80% after years of education before university.
A university can only accept so many people on campus every year. Select on merit who are the best in their generation.
Not the people who cant study after many years of trying.
Getting 90% shows a bit more ability to study. The ability to study more for years.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Here are some other ways to spend $1.8 billion on education:
1) Set up low-cost schools that teach people basic school skills, such as basic math, science, and grammar. (Don't forget the people who need help in these areas.)
2) Set up schools that concentrate in one area - for example, music, auto repair, or STEM. One of these STEM schools doesn't teach PE or women's studies. It just teaches STEM classes. These schools wouldn't force you to take classes unrelated to your major.
3) In these schools, make sure that the teacher does a thorough job of grading your homework. For example if you turn in code, the teacher should check whether your code is efficient, well-structured, etc.
4) Buy the rights to outstanding educational books, an then distribute the books freely online.
5) For books with outstanding authors (people who explain things well), if the author is willing to do so, set up a website for each book. Pay the author to answer questions that were sent in by people who read that book. (This is an alternative way to learn.)
6) Pay researchers to find out how universities have been spending their money for each of the last 25 years (to show the trends), and publicize the findings. Taxpayers might ask, "My tax money has been spent for that?!" That might help bring down the tuition prices.
7) Pay for this project: Ask thousands of hiring managers to write some questions and answers (which will be peer-reviewed). Ask the manager to categorize the questions (ex: Java / beginning / inheritance). Collect the questions and answers into a database. Then if a company is willing to consider hiring a self-taught entry-level Java programmer employee, the company can use beginning Java questions in the database to test the job applicant. If you're self-taught, then you can prove what you know by the projects that you did, and by passing the test.
8) To encourage employers to hire student interns, pay part of the interns' salaries. (A student job really helps you see what the "real world" is like. Also, the student and employer get a chance to check each other out.)
9) Remember, not everyone want to go into IT. Some people prefer to drive trucks, or to be a professional cook. Remember to set up truck-driving schools and cooking schools.
10) Also remember that the basic goal is not helping the student to go to a particular school. The basic goal is to teach the student. If the student can learn in ways other than by going to the particular school (ex: by individual study), then fine. Let's help the student do individual study.
That’s exactly the problem. It’s hardly any surprise that predatory organizations like that crop up when there’s easy money on the table.
wouldn't it be great this would be available for everybody all the time?
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
You're welcome :)
(What's that you say? The posts here are not expressing simple gratitude? ;) )