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Author Naomi Schaeffer Riley on the decreasing rate of college enrollment and what can be done to halt the slide.
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-- -- -- the cost of college tuition continues to rise on it bought the number of students enrolling is on a decline.
Fears of massive college debt and the lack of job opportunities when you graduated as a lot of -- is realizing that -- college isn't worth the investment.
Joining us now is Naomi Schaefer Riley she's the -- all the great book the faculty lounges.
They and we welcome back thanks her.
It is -- accurate that fewer people -- enrolling in college because college cost so wait up and job prospects about it.
Well it's hard to determine exactly why people -- enrolling you are actually getting us a shrinking pool in the sense that there are fewer high school graduates in certain places just because of generational shifts.
But there is definitely a sense that colleges have I have to become increasingly sensitive to -- and parents are becoming increasingly sensitive to cost you had.
About two dozen colleges this year freeze their tuitions.
As a result all this pressure on -- yet.
I think there may be some of them was thought to Lola tuition because they really need to attract people.
Well you know it's a little bit like our discussion about the federal budget which is you know what what -- is really need to be doing is cutting costs they don't need to be you know cutting tuition -- mean.
They have sort of put themselves in the situation where they have.
Huge numbers of buildings they have enormous construction costs they have enormous administrative costs.
And really they have to balance their books I mean you can only do so much by raising tuition and I think they're realizing hello Ali look look -- -- -- Value judgment and I will make -- a flat out value judgment in many cases college isn't worth it.
There is no point in emerging from college with what 50000 dollars worth of debt.
With a degree in a subject which doesn't give you an immediate occupation which is gonna pay off -- 50000 dollars in debt.
College for many people isn't worth it -- -- being extreme night.
Bids start because it I mean the statistics still show that over -- course of their lifetime your earnings will be higher as a result of the college naming your earnings would have been higher anyway because -- not confluence do you 00 but our society what happens is colleges the stamp of approval yet we are talking about company -- servicing that companies HR department like to see -- -- -- -- -- From -- blue chip Ivy -- so I don't think they do I think they wanna see experience.
And that's why it got places like Finland.
Moving more toward trade schools learning -- real trade not these -- you know degrees and gender based study cannot tell -- something.
I am so tired of colleges these academics.
These fat cat academic setting up their act like Donald Trump many -- running real estate a hotel and higher if that's -- -- -- -- -- -- if only had a system in the US of legitimate very well -- legitimate trade schools like a lot of European countries do.
That might work but the fact of the matter is here HR departments value the four year degree.
Another subject.
I am told that some colleges are beginning to charge mall.
For two for it to students to study a particular major weather major results -- -- -- income and a better job prospects.
Now they're charging last -- they let us -- public universities are are undertaking this because they want to encourage more people to go into.
Math and science majors lives up they charge me -- Let's go into an engineering they want you to -- they want to encourage you to go into jobs that seem more productive for the economy -- Florida has been talking about -- -- It's an interesting idea but we know one problem there there's sort of two problem -- of the first obviously is that if you're going into engineering it and make more money and ended the market is already telling you this is a good idea.
So if you ask me why more people aren't going into math and science and engineering major suspect there are -- a nervous.
And I mean that these apartments so yeah not.
A parent charging more -- -- -- -- should not be charging parents and families more connected growing wanna discourage you from going into what I mean I think you know this is of this sort of above the idea of the public university -- economic driver and so if -- -- the governor of Florida and you say we would really like more engineers how we encourage home or maybe they want to.
Eliminate those other towards well that's my.
Yeah administrators forty don't want -- that would administrators went.
It but I can't get on the real problem is that you know as a as Americans and notes that I think it starts much.
Early much earlier than college you know where you know softball we've we've blood degrades you know kids are getting -- really should be getting sees.
As it me -- we've set ourselves up for failure by the time -- -- -- -- -- college.
No I think that's true but a lot of kids are not prepared to go into a lot of these hard math and science majors and a lot of -- -- start often those -- end up transferring out of them into softer majors where they know that the grades will be higher and it's true that grade inflation means that in the humanities and social sciences.
You're bound to get a higher GPA as a result do you agree with the following proposition.
That university is -- intellectual elite and not everybody is you can.
More and more people are going to college because they look at that statistic it is very hard to get a good job with just the high school degree and I don't think that's.
The hot and -- I think he's just did not ask you shouldn't even be intellectually.
That's what it's always want but it may now suffused.
That's a fitting on some of these classes annual -- front in the lead of.
Americans should look and don't I don't -- -- Veronica thank you very much indeed him -- always good thank you are.
