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UC-XI

HT to anonymous in the previous thread for linking to DE's op-ed in today's LA Times.

The short version is that California ranks 49th among states whose high school graduates go on to college, and that a fully-fledged cyber-UC campus (read: low overhead --> low tuition) might be a way to track kids toward higher education, "not just in Barstow but in Bangor and Beijing."

As a threshold observation, this certainly is an expression of our Dean's consistent, positive, progressive attitude, and an example of the kind of thinking and energy I admire. DE cares.

I do have some questions, though. First, what do Bangor and Beijing have to do with California's high school to college matriculation rate? Second, what's wrong with the community colleges we already have? Are they full? If not, then why? The kids who chose to avoid community college seem likely to avoid an online education, too. But I could be wrong about that.

Third, and more important, a big part of the problem is that California's educated population is shrinking, and nothing is being done to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, other segments of the population are on the rise. This is a touchy subject, but put it this way: although the number of people in California continues to increase, the resident number of native-born California residents is declining. Why? They're going to Nevada, to Oregon, to Arizona, because they don't want to be here anymore. Would UC-XI help? My sense is that they could just as easily leave with an online degree as without.

That's the cynical take. There are others. Yesterday I logged on to the Department of Education's website and checked my total outstanding student loan balance. Some of those loans are a product of choices I have made. But most of it comes from the painful, expensive reality of a UC education. It's true that I'm willing to borrow against my future worth (which I suppose is a form of betting on myself -- how narcissistic), but maybe that shouldn't be what a high caliber education costs. Maybe the state should bear that risk, instead? If it wants to encourage more people to learn, maybe it could reduce the incredible financial burden an education incurs? I suppose UC-XI is way of doing just that.

Oh but wait, there is prop 13. And voter referendums. And the ridiculous priorities of the good folks up in Sacramento.

Okay, I'm rambling and I'll stop, but no wonder people see greener pastures on the other side of the Sierras. I can tell you first hand that it's actually pretty nice out there.

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on July 01, 2009 (boomark / email).