Sec. 9. Benefits of public institutions of higher education.

The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.

12/8/2020 12:15:41 PM

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"as far as practicable"

Well that covers all possibilities.

12/8/2020 1:49:32 PM

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"Cost differentiation based on economic utility limits economically desirable degrees to students who already have the means to afford the degree. To the extent we expect students to pay tuition, I'd much rather see those costs averaged across students than differentiated by degree. Even better is highly subsidized or universal post-secondary. Hard to be upwardly mobile if you can't afford a degree that makes you upwardly mobile."

This is not true. If a degree provides meaningful earning potential, then lenders will be more than willing to lend to underprivileged students, because the student will still be able to make the payments for higher loans. With actual market pressure placed on colleges to price degrees appropriately (via reformed bankruptcy laws), colleges will have to reign in costs, otherwise lenders wont foot the risk of default and loss.

I would argue that a differentiated pricing scheme is better for upward mobility, as marginal students would be more able to afford degrees within their skillset and abilities. Schools would have an incentive to directly market and serve such students, as well as ensure they pass and are proficient enough to hold a paying job. This is preferable to the system we have today where neither the school nor the lender gives a shit if a kid who can barely read tries to get into pre-med or engineering and flunks out after 3 semesters with 100k in debt and no degree.

12/12/2020 12:26:05 AM

No matter the earning potential, private lenders are not going to issue loans to underprivileged students at the same frequency or with the same favorable terms as they do well-off students. I don't know how you can invoke the market and then think otherwise.

What market are you referring to? The one between prospective employers and degree holders? Between students and universities? Between lenders and lendees? Which market should we prioritize?

Your second paragraph conflates economically marginal with academically marginal. Do you think the poors are dumb and economic success is the inevitable result of smartitude?

12/17/2020 5:46:47 PM