The Benefits and Limitations of "Funding Degrees"

The Benefits and Limitations of "Funding Degrees": Question 4. Provide your perspective about the benefits and limitations of funding degrees.
The idea of funding degrees has a lot of attraction. It places a lot of focused attention that we cant simply fund institutions and have students come in and out and not complete what they came there for in the first place. Its crucial that we get focused attention; we need more students to complete academic programs for us to maintain global competitiveness and the life styles we are accustomed to and want for our children.
However, if we fund degrees, we have to be very cognizant of a number of things. First, institutions are multi-complex entities. Millions of dollars are used to keep these entities alive and functioning. If we fund degrees, we have to question how much money we are using to fund degrees. If we cut too much into the core of predictable funding of institutions, we will find ourselves in a very difficult and challenging arena from one year to the next.
Secondly, when we are funding degrees, are all degrees equal? Does this society feel that it needs any kind of college graduate or are some fields more important than others? Every field is important but we know science and math in todays world has extra importance. So as we begin to say that we are going to fund degrees, we need a lot of work at the front end: Which degrees? Why those degrees? Do we have a dynamic system that can change as the times change so we know where the shortages are? Where are the weaknesses and how do we begin to get those critical degrees produced and out into the work force? Its a good idea to fund degrees but the devil is in the details.
Another issue that needs to be on the table is productivity. How do we ensure that productivity and quality are linked and integrated, and that we are not simply producing more degrees without an attention to the quality of those degrees? We may get lots more students, but unless they can perform at a quality level up against their peers, internationally and throughout the world, we have missed a very important ingredient.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• higher education
• financial aid
• missouri