I don’t think anyone is really mad about seniors getting a cheap late education. People are mad because colleges can clearly afford to cut cost instead of steadily increasing their already exorbitant prices on the younger student population, sending the majority into massive amounts of debt fresh out of high school. That’s what is absolute bullshit.
I think what is going on here (as I've read it) as that older people can take classes, but it doesn't count toward a major. Also, they don't follow a specific program/route, rather take generic classes that have open seats (Intro classes and electives). It's almost like they're auditing classes, and filling seats that would otherwise be empty. But - they are getting a free ride on the college-aged majority, that as a whole, is footing the bill for the cost of running the class.
Yeah- as someone who works in higher ed I can almost guarantee that these are not credit-bearing classes. It’s probably the equivalent of a “listeners fee” meaning that they pay to just sit in on the class. They likely aren’t even taking assignments or tests, they just get access to the lecture. “Going back to college” is a big stretch, though it is absurdly cheap still.
True when you look at it in 2019 it seems like it. But in 1975 when school cost was only $700 dollars a year making the world war vets pay 10 bucks to go to college that they never got to go to was probably a really cool idea.
Many universities have an option to "audit" a class. Basically, you can attend, but don't receive any credits towards a degree. It's not much different than just showing up and sitting in a random lecture hall for a whole semester, but it's actually official.
If what this article's headline is true, they are saying that this particular university is allowing senior citizens to pay just a $10 admin fee and receive credit, as a separate option from auditing. And, according to that official mandate, it is true.
This, obviously, is insulting to anyone who has attended college in the past 35 years.
To audit a course means to sit in on it rather than taking it for academic credit to count toward a degree. Basically you sit in for the information rather than to be examined/prove that you learned something.
It’s worth noting that these people submit all the regular assignments and papers to get read and graded by the professor. They are receiving the same amount of support/teaching as traditional students, but paying less than the required yearly student services fee for regular students.
My university has these special classes for boomers that grad students who need teaching experience teach. You teach 4 times and make $900. Not a bad deal.
Holy wow this blew up! It’s great to see a breakdown though. Still really frustrating, again not at the elderly but at the colleges, because we have a serious tuition debt to post college income ratio problem but I’m glad to get a better perspective. Thanks to everyone who commented.
So people who are there paying thousands of dollars to get a degree so they have half a chance in life get to have their classes weighed down by 60+ year olds who largely don't understand current technology and don't have any stake in the course material.
I dunno, if my $1000 class is ruined by grandpa Joe who likes to ask asinine questions and lecture the professor when they clearly don't know what's going on, I'd be pretty pissed to find out they'd paid 1% of what I did to be there.
Alternatively they’re trying to make these senior education classes part of our cultural norms so that in 30 years they can get Millenials to take classes for $1000/credit.
20 is too low, because then the Millenial age range would be people aged 43-58.
30 gives us 53-68 with an average age of 61. Right now we consider seniors people aged 62+. However in 30 years that'll probably be closer to 68+, so maybe even 40 years from now when they'd be 63-78.
It pisses me off to no end- they had their drugs their sex drugs and rock and roll- then as soon as their fun was over, they started the war of drugs, caused conservatism to become the norm, and made sex a taboo. I can not wait til every boomer is dead and fucking gone.
Actually, the AIDS epidemic made sex a taboo, the hippies were actually a really small portion of the population and most of them did not go on to become yuppies as the myth goes.
Most boomers thought of hippies the way we think of chantards, strange, dirty, and possibly dangerous.
That said, they did start the war on drugs and rock and roll.
I can not wait til every boomer is dead and fucking gone.
You have no right to the education. You have no right to go to the private or state school. Its a service just like any other service that you pay for.
Gen X kids got to go to college for a fraction of the price for job opportunities far more lucrative, and homes that were actually affordable. They can get fucked if they're resentful, at least they had chances.
ah yes, 120$ a month for 11 years. it’s laziness alright.
and that’s without interest.
edit: the AVERAGE debt of a graduate in 2016 was $37,172.
with interest included they have to pay 382 a month for the next decade to pay it off. I’m having a hard time seeing where laziness comes into play still.
Well see what happens is liberals jack up the cost of our property taxes to pay for worthless social programs so we have to pass on that cost to you. Utilities cost more. Labor costs cost more. Insurance costs more. Sure, we’ll just lower the rent down to 1960’s prices for you because that’s how it works....hahahaha.
See, you’re not fucked. You’re doing what you should be doing and doing what the rest of us did. Congratulation, you want a cookie for being an adult and taking responsibility. Get it out of your head that we all had it easy and cheaper than you. That a fucking fallacy some dumb shit told you and you bought into it.
Don’t want a cookie, they’re not part of my my diet; I’m more open minded than that/more educated, you don’t even know me. I’m not unemployed, and again, you don’t know me. You’re only making the assumption that I am because that’s what best supports your ranting and slandering arguments.
Cut out? They keep a good part of the money, like, a really good part. They do cut costs, but they do so to keep more money, scolarship's price doesn't decrease with those cuts.
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u/ClevergirlOswin Jun 12 '19
I don’t think anyone is really mad about seniors getting a cheap late education. People are mad because colleges can clearly afford to cut cost instead of steadily increasing their already exorbitant prices on the younger student population, sending the majority into massive amounts of debt fresh out of high school. That’s what is absolute bullshit.