<p>according to UC Statfinder ~2500 students were accepted to UCSC with a 3.2 or less. 750 had less than a 3.0. At Riverside, the numbers are 6500 and 2160 respectively. (Yes, that is correct, 2k+ students admitted less than a 3.0. Do THEY really need the resources of a major research Uni?)</p>
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<p>Due in part to the need for remedial education. Overall, 50% of students matriculating to Cal State require remedial education in math and or English. At some campuses, it’s 90%! Rather costly way to re-teach a high school curriculum, don’t you think?</p>
<p>According to some here and on tv many think people want to pay more in taxes. Y’all could encourage each other and bundle your checks for the school of your choice.</p>
<p>Floridadad (post 137) pretty much hit the nail on the head.</p>
<p>Most of the other posters do not seem to realize how bad the situation is - that we cannot keep runing $1.5 trillion a year deficits year after year. We cannot keep running the largest deficits since World War 2 year after year.</p>
<p>If this keeps up, in 5 years we are Greece. Just remember, 5 years ago if I had told you that the US was going to lose it AAA bond rating in 2011, you would have laughed. This is not “business as usual” folks.</p>
<p>Are you somehow suggesting that it is the amount of money our government is just pouring into the higher education system which is leading to the federal deficits? Last time I checked, not so much.</p>
<p>It is the defense spending and the entitlements for the elderly which are leading to the deficits. If the entitlements for the elderly are to continue to be funded, it might make sense to consider investing in the education of our future workforce. </p>
<p>As for paying higher taxes? In illinois we just had a tax increase. My gripe is that this money goes to administrators and pension funds (again retireess) and not to the productivity of the future generation. </p>
<p>The whole defunding of public education in this country is a joke. Then, we will all wonder why China is lending us all this money to pay for grandpa’s walker.</p>
<p>I cut out the state and send the money directly to the university. Then I am sure where it goes. And I wish more alumni would do that. But everyone is a little strapped these days.</p>
<p>Of course, austerity (spending cuts, tax increases) will have an anti-stimulus effect on the economy, reducing tax revenue further, creating more budget deficits, requiring more austerity, further shrinking the economy, … the result of overstimulating the economy with deficit spending during better times before 2008, inflating the bubbles that popped to disastrous effect leading to the current economic problems.</p>
<p>That’s what it is today. It’s not a should - it is what it is.</p>
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<p>I live in a state which has a strong emphasis on local control and an
enviroment of low taxation. State legislators are paid $100 a year and
it’s not something that they go into for the salaries, perks and
pensions. Most go their to serve their constituents and their state.
We have a lot of the best and brightest that run for local office
because they can make a difference in their cities and towns. The
fact that cities and towns do not have excessive resources makes it
easier for citizens to participate and support their government.</p>
<p>People do sacrifice here. But it’s a lot easier to do if you can
see that your sacrifice is being used well.</p>
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<p>I do not see that happening without the trust of the people and
yelling to raise taxes without this trust will result in strong
pushback.</p>
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<p>Then why do colleges and universities (yes, even publics) receive so
much money in donations and private scholarships? Could it be that
doners believe that they will use the money responsibly? These
donations aren’t symbolic - they do real good. To the point that the
most important aspect to picking a college president is their ability
to raise funds.</p>
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<p>Do you see the irony in your two sentences? We’re expected to pay
higher taxes in an environment where we think that these higher taxes
are wasted.</p>
<p>In my state, time is the price of civilization. People that volunteer
to work in government without recompense is what keeps are state
tight. Yes, we have full-time employees too but local voting over
budgets gives local individuals the ability to adjust things when they
get out of whack.</p>
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<p>My view is that Federal taxes are lower and state and local taxes are
higher. The net effect depends on which state and city you live in.
My state taxes are up about 120% over the last ten years.</p>
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<p>Maybe they can. I can certainly pay more in taxes. Should they pay
more for corrupt government spending? I think that it’s pretty hard to
make a case for that.</p>
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<p>It depends on where you live. Median income in my town is probably in
the $80K+ area and that amount is considered normal. I have another
residence where the median household income is under $40K. There, $75K
for teachers would be considered a lot.</p>
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<p>The current model of redistribution has been working in private
universities for a long time and we’ve seen it in the public colleges
and universities for at least a decade though I believe that it has
accelerated since 2008. Taxpayer support for public higher education
has declined, in almost all of the states that contribute generously
to public higher education and states that value education. I do not
see this system as broken at this time. Yes, college can be tough for
those in the middle-class but struggling to pay for college isn’t
necessarily a bad thing.</p>
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<p>I live in a low-tax state with good public participation in government,
low unemployment (5.3% in August 2011), business growth and what appears
to be healthy consumer sentiment. Tax support for higher education is on
the low side but we have the 3rd highest percentage of adults with college
degrees in the country. Massachusetts, a high-tax state which isn’t that
generous to the UMass system (not sure about community colleges and the
state college system) is first.</p>
<p>Connecticut is second and their prices for in-state undergraduates at
the University of Connecticut are similar to the prices at UMass and
UNH. So low public higher ed tax contributions don’t necessarily mean
an uneducated citizenry. It’s a bit odd that the top three states fit
this bill.</p>
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<p>There are a lot of home schooling families that really can’t afford
to lose an income but they do it anyway by lowering their living
standards and costs. The situation with labs and resources today
is a lot better than when we homeschooled.</p>
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<p>I think that the country is finding out that families can do with a lot
less than what they used to think were needs. That said, there are people
with no real options.</p>
<p>In many of these families, the parents can’t contribute to the casual
teaching of their kids because their parents don’t have the knowledge,
ability, or time to do so. I spoke to a university instructor that
teaches courses in studying skills (basically Intro to University). He
told me that the biggest problem that he sees in students is that they
can’t explain their answers to questions - they learn facts or acquire
beliefs but they can’t argue or reason about their facts or beliefs.
I’ve used the Socratic parenting method from when the kids were very
young to keep them thinking - sometimes they throw out ridiculous
answers or explanations but I then get to demonstrate the reasoning
about why things are the way they are. My kids have outgrown my
knowledge in many areas today but I can still get them to think about
complex events of the day.</p>
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<p>Improving schools doesn’t necessarily mean throwing money at the
problem. Money matters up to a point. That point is generally around
$10,000/student/year in New England. I think that’s a pretty generous
amount of money to educate students. If you disagree, perhaps you
could tell us what your number is.</p>
<p>With all of the options here in CA, I agree with this. I think what people are complaining about is that the college they want to attend is unaffordable to them because they didn’t save enough. I’ll bet there are affordable options available for just about every college-ready student. (emphasis on “college-ready.”)</p>
<p>The Federal tax credit should cover 100% of tuition, fees and books at a California Community college and a part-time job and a summer job could pay for some expenses. Going to the CSU would involve more expense but quite a bit less than what students pay in New England.</p>
<p>Costs at California Community Colleges are a lot lower than what I paid at Boston College over 30 years ago. Costs at California State Universities are about a thousand less than twice what I paid over 30 years ago. That’s not bad! Especially when you throw in a $2,500 tax credit.</p>
<p>dstark can send his D to CalPoly SLO - a great school - for $6500 per year. That is probably less than the tuition at any decent private high school. If he doesn’t want to pay r+b, she can go to SFState, also a good school, for only $5100 per year.</p>
<p>There’s a huge difference between a state legislature cutting funds to state funded universities (and other agencies) as part of the budget. But that’s not what IL has done. They have budgeted for the universities, they just aren’t cutting the checks. This, of course, provides enormous amounts of uncertainty, with the threat of rescission over everyone’s head. That means that there’s an enormous amount of hoarding of funds, since there is no guarantee that any are coming from the state. That mean that faculty lines remain unfilled (hiring freeze because of uncertain funds) which means that not all courses can be taught. (You can extend this to any other major expenditure.) It also means that there’s enormous amounts of continuing deferred maintenance, which is ultimately more expensive - leaky roofs, cracked or leaking windows ruining furniture (which then needs to be replaced) ruined books or research, etc. . .</p>
<p>IL isn’t alone in this, btw, it’s just been going on longer in IL than anywhere else. U of MI gave up on state funding many, many moons ago and basically functions as a private university, the state funding was so small and uncertain.</p>
<p>Does California have the lowest public college costs in the country for Community Colleges and State Universities? I don’t think that you can get those prices anywhere in New England.</p>
<p>MA tax collections are reported on a monthly basis and the budget can
be adjusted quarterly and would certainly be adjusted for the next
year. UMass had an uncertainty issue on their budget one year so they
just raised tuition with a rebate to come when the state money came
in.</p>
<p>The crappy plant and equipment? It’s part of the college experience.</p>