Sunday, March 9, 2008
Will the cost of college get even higher?
When logging on today a story popped up about college students in Illinois holding a memorial for their fallen students and proffesor. I didn't read the story but it did make me think about something. I'm wondering if all the sudden violence in college campuses will cause tuition to get even higher so that campuses can pay for more security measures? We all know that after Columbine happened, all high schools went on high alert and security measures were increased. Now, with more "exciting" happenings in college campuses one has to wonder will the cost of tuition increase to "make us safer"? We all know that college is already outragiously expensive (we've all looked into the costs) and with the need for increased security will us students be paying even more? And just in case anyone is wondering, no, I still havn't decided where I'm going next year yet.
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2 comments:
This is a very good point (unfortunately). I'd hate to see the cost of college tuition go up (as I'm sure all of us would), but maybe that's not what would happen.
Police officers and college officials seem to be learning from the trends of prior shootings and remodeling their defensive plans of action after those. (For instance, they've gotten better at alerting the school and locking down the campus so the shooter can't slip in or out of the dorms and cause more deaths, etc.) This knowledge, though very valuable, probably doesn't cost them (or, indirectly, the students) too much, if anything. Hopefully this fact is reflected by an absence of a price spike in tuition rates.
I think that if the incident rates at colleges were/become so high that new security measures would have to be implemented, then there'd also be a corresponding decrease in demand to go to college. A large percentage of students drop out of college after "partying" dries up all of their funds. Those students, especially, who just go to college to have fun are going to find "fun" somewhere else, preferably cheaper and less dangerous, if the danger of dying at school keeps increasing.
High security measures may also make some students wary about going to college, for fear it'd restrict their freedoms.
Overall, I'm thinking (and hoping and praying) that if shooting rates got any higher, expectations would push demand for college down, making the price decrease, if anything, for those of us still determined to go.
Interesting thought, I could see costs for the school going up, depending on what type of new security measures they think about taking. If colleges change their defensive plans, as Marty said, then I do not think prices will go up, but that they will put security in different places at different times. Though, what if they resort to using metal dectectors and have you put your phone and keys throught the tunnel and pop out the otherside. I'm not sure if all schools will go this far, but it could be possible. This will become a huge safety precaution that will cost more money and be a hassel. I could see this increasing the tution, but would it be worth it? It is hard to say, never have been present in school shooting, but I'm sure some people will say it is. This could be a hot topic if the pattern continues.
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