I have been reading so many posts that express concern about the cost of college, college completion rates, safety, violence, and refund.
Does anyone else agree that we would all benefit from a student / family - Bill of Rights needs to be established. Given the cost of college it seems like college needs a warning label for students and their families? Paying for college - like other large consumer purchases - will benefit from real consumer protections and transparency.
What do you think should be included?
Here are some of my ideas:
- all degrees are not worth the same investment so be careful with how much you pay for any particular degree
- all universities are not worth the same investment so be careful what you pay to one particular school
- schools have terms and conditions regarding your payments and most often do not provide 100% refunds.
- schools are required to publish campus safety & crime statistics in the Clery Report - but hundreds report that no thefts, fires or sexual assaults occur on their campus
- the money you borrow for federal students and use to pay schools must be repaid even if you don't graduate
- the money you borrow for private student loans must be repaid in all cases, even in the case of the death of a student.
- the greatest risk to your investment is your inability to complete a degree program - if you start / finish or face harsh consequences that the education may not increase your capacity to recoup the cost of the education
Other ideas?
I don’t agree that all degrees aren’t worth the same investment. This will become an argument against arts and humanities majors, right? And some college is worth money even if the degree is not finished, unless the kid fails. It helps with employment, has intrinsic value, and a person can always return to finish at a later date. I think some of this information is on the loan contract, but would have to check.
I don’t consider your suggestions a bill of rights. Some of the points are good to know, but they don’t constitute a bill of rights.
“the money you borrow for federal students and use to pay schools must be repaid even if you don’t graduate” - well, yeah …
“the money you borrow for private student loans must be repaid in all cases, even in the case of the death of a student” - federal loans first, for this very important reason. A Parent PLUS loan will be forgiven if the student dies.
A question related to your points: Are you suggesting that any school that reports no thefts/fires/sexual assaults is lying???
This is nothing like a bill of rights… rights would be something like “Every citizen is guaranteed a K through College public education.” (I do NOT want to debate that, just using it as an example.)
I disagree with your first two points as I have the same assumptions as @compmom does. I do get tired of hearing that my degree isn’t worth the same investment as, say, a chemistry degree just because that’s STEM and mine was in Arts & Humanities.
The school that’s worth the investment is the one that you’re going to succeed at. That can be ranked 100 spots lower than the best school you were accepted to.
I used to work for a university - we were required to implement a standardized Financial Aid Shopping Sheet when displaying aid to students - it incudes graduation rate for the institution, loan default rate, median borrowing, etc. It separates out aid that has to be repaid (loans) vs scholarships/grants. The template for the shopping sheet is located here:
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/aid-offer/shoppingsheettemplate20172018.pdf
@romanigypsyeyes
I think the OP meant a consumer bill of rights, like we have for airlines or credit cards.
Caveat Emptor. Like many large investments - buying a house, financial investments, etc. the best defense is a good offense. Do your homework. Kick the tires, ask for the stats - crime and otherwise, speak to people who go there, visit the campus.
I don’t agree at all. There is plenty of information so that FAMILIES can make their own decisions about college, costs, who will pay, return on investment…and the like.
I have issues with your very first idea. (All degrees are not worth the same investment so be careful with how much you pay for any particular degree)
SO many subjective statements there, I see it as a springboard to a huge family fight rather than source of agreement 
@kelsmom - I don’t think schools are lying…it just seems unlikely that zero crimes occur. Seems more like a reporting issue. CNN did a big show on the topic and I read an article last year about Michigan underreporting data.
Everyone’s feedback here is helpful - I probably mixed topics too much…was just curious if others saw the investment in college like another consumer purchase?
“Curious if others saw the investment in college like another consumer purchase?”
Do you actually think people see paying for college in the same way as say, a vacuum cleaner?
Do you actually think people read the consumer disclosures when they borrow money or buy something? (Hint, they do not!)
The disclosures about the loans are right there in the loans - that they have to be paid back starting when you leave school or graduate. Private loans are very clear on the terms and who has to do the paying back. All the information about deadlines to drop classes and get refunds are online too, but people don’t read them or ask questions. In fact, students have to do a pre-loan counseling programs, and they all click through it as fast as they can.
This seems more like a series of observations rather than a consumer bill of rights. I agree with the comments on how subjective, esp. on types of degrees.
And in answer to your question, no, I never looked at picking a college as being like a consumer purchase. But then, as a college instructor, I see the students who view themselves as “consumers” getting less out of their classes than those who see themselves as there for an intrinsic experience ( which will benefit them in many ways.)
Anyone who shells out $50-$250K for a degree should have done their homework.