Free College Controversy

Education is an important part of a society and in the recent years there has been a lot of controversy on the idea of adopting tuition-free post secondary education. Many European countries that lie in the confounds of a more socialist society have started implementing free, or nearly free, college education. These public colleges ran by European governments are paid for by the people of these nations through taxation. When looking at the United States, this becomes a very controversial issue. Many people argue that it is up to the individual to “better” himself or herself whereas others believe that by instilling a free post secondary education system it is benefitting the country as a whole; some even going as far as believing it is our
According to Jennifer Viemont, the founder of the advising service; Beyond the States, “There are at least 44 schools across Europe where Americans can earn their bachelor's degree for free” ( Lobosco). Nearly 50,000 americans are currently enrolled in European universities, many due to financial reasons that are not relevant in the United States. Although there is no such thing as free, students still have to pay for housing food and health insurance. The U.S. Department of Education states, “ college remains the greatest driver of socioeconomic mobility in America today, stating that we must keep college in reach of Americans that are in the middle class or striving to be in the middle class. The US Department of Education urges that if no changes are made to make college education more accessible to the class or people trying to get there that it could have the opposite effect on the future of this nation. President Obama also quotes, “Creating a clear path to the middle class and ensuring our nation's economic prosperity means opening the doors of higher education to more Americans”( U.S. Department of
The U.S. department of education expresses some of the issues associated with these large increases, tuition has more than doubled in the last 30 years and the average college graduate owes nearly $27,000 (U.S. Department of Education). The increase in college tuition has left a great number of young americans unable to attend these institutions or having to drop out before they have finished a degree. Cumulatively the student loan debt in the United States has an estimate of 1.3 trillion dollars a 39 percent increase in the last four years ( Redd ).
Many have concluded that the importance is confounded with the ideology that American universities have placed in front of academics. Warren Threadgold, a scholar, has said that the largest issue is that American universities have put more emphasis on Ideology rather than