
Want to make college more affordable? Reform the accreditation system - sylvainkalache
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/27/opinions/student-debt-reform-accreditation-system-sheffield-opinion/index.html
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HarryHirsch
It's difficult to follow the line of argument, but it seems to go like this:
accreditation is de facto mandatory and creates an artificial shortage of
colleges, keeping tuition high. By getting rid of accreditation new players
will enter the education market and competition will reduce prices.

It's at odds with reality. Accreditation has been around since the 1900s,
whereas tuition began to rise disproportionately in the mid-1980s. Also,
bootcamps are very lightly regulated, and we are seeing that market collapse.

Why not try what works in most European countries: fund colleges adequately
and shift the burden of the cost from the individual to society as a whole?

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tylerhou
> accreditation is de facto mandatory and creates an artificial shortage of
> colleges, keeping tuition high.

More specifically, it creates an artificial shortage of _affordable_ colleges,
i.e., those which offer federally assisted financial aid programs.

> Why not try what works in most European countries: fund colleges adequately
> and shift the burden of the cost from the individual to society as a whole?

This article seems to offer a solution in line with some European countries
--- most notably, Germany, which famously has a dual education system [1]. Not
everyone needs to go to college, and I think there's a high likelihood that
not everyone _should_ , given the success rates of vocational high schools and
equivalent colleges.

I also don't think that free or reduced college costs make sense or are a net-
positive for society in general. For one, college is essentially an investment
which increases your earnings potential over time. Subsidizing college is
approximately like society giving 17/18 year olds free money (to the order of
>$100,000) to invest. I don't think society giving away money on the order of
6 figures is a good idea, not to mention that you would run to severe problems
such as misaligned incentives/principal agent.

Furthermore, free or heavily subsidized college seems to disproportionately
benefit the class of U.S. citizens who most likely go to college, i.e. upper-
middle-class families, which I don't think need the most help right now.

(I've heard rumors that college-as-an-investment might not be the best
analogy; please correct me if that's true/I'm wrong.)

[1]
[https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dual_education_system](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dual_education_system)

