On January 27, 1785, the Georgia General Assembly voted to charter a state-sponsored university, thus making the University of Georgia the oldest public university in the United States. Granted, the “public” generally meant white men, and the subjects studied might have included law, medicine, the seminary, and little else, but it was a beginning.
As our nation grew, the make-up, offerings, and role of the higher education system grew as well. I’d wager that many of you readers didn’t decide if you were going to attend a college or university after high school so much as where, because if you didn’t, how would you ever win at the game of life?
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 41% of 18–24-year-olds were enrolled in college in 2018. Also by 2018, approximately 62% of those individuals who began their bachelor’s degree programs in 2012 had graduated. College plays a huge role in our society.
Now, I believe the public education system, from top to bottom, is one of the most important accomplishments of our nation. Ideally, each citizen possesses an equal opportunity for an education, allowing our country to benefit from the genius, ingenuity, and effort of everyone, even historically marginalized peoples. And being the unapologetic nerd that I am, I love being in a classroom (or in the field), soaking up knowledge or challenging students to grow beyond their bubble. For me, education still means growth and opportunity.
The reality of higher education in our country is far from ideal and far from available for everyone, however. If you’ve taken classes recently or signed your kid up for college, you’ve undoubtedly run a gauntlet of choosing a college and major, application essays and fees, financial aid packages, and deciding on room and board. You may have squinted your eyes and gazed into the murkiest of crystal balls to gauge if the debt and degree will pay off, or decided to go with your gut, embrace your passion, and let future-you sort it out.
Some opt to jump right into adulting, or choose the military or trade school – also valid and valuable choices that don’t burden you with the same kind of debt. I’m not here to convince you that there’s a right way, you have to decide that for yourself; I have a bachelor’s, master’s, and spent 9 years in a PhD program before walking away, I obviously enjoy pain and suffering.
But the debt is not something to overlook. For those who’ve been through it, raise your hand if student loan payments make up a substantial portion of each month’s bills. Here too, buddy. College affordability is one of the biggest and most visible debates happening right now. Rising tuition costs are predominantly shutting out individuals from low-income homes. That means, as a nation, we’re missing opportunities.
Escalating tuition rates are at least partially attributable to substantial cuts in state funding for higher education, which traditionally covers many of the operating costs according to the Pew Charitable Trust, while federal funding has stayed largely stagnant. Meanwhile, we the people, are shouldering the difference and stumbling under that weight.
Another issue receiving much less attention is who is teaching the classes. I know that, up until my PhD program, I really didn’t notice or understand the difference between an associate, assistant, or full professor. I knew it was a ranking system of sorts, and I definitely knew when the massive lectures of my undergraduate years were taught by graduate students. Within recent years, a new type of professor has become increasingly common: the adjunct professor. To put it simply, an adjunct is contracted through the university for a class, maybe two or three, keeping below the level where the school is required to provide benefits.
Sound familiar? Most adjuncts are allowed no say in course/department/university development, and they generally provide little to no advising for students. They are disposable, paid wages that put them below the poverty line, and they are increasingly teaching you or your children.
“So what?” you ask, “Why should it matter to me, so long as they’re qualified?” Because, as you or your child struggle to get to the next step in the game of life, the cost of education keeps going up while the quality of education suffers.
I don’t mean the say that adjunct professors are substandard; many are young and passionate and up-to-date on recent goings on, and/or they possess valuable real-world experience. Yet as the expensive Boomer professors retire, they’re replaced by much cheaper adjuncts or visiting professors who are unable or unwilling (understandably) to invest in the students, community, and university in a way that extends beyond the classroom. In a nutshell, you’re paying more for your education and receiving less for every dollar.
There are no winners here.
Despite the rain I just dumped on your parade, you college-minded fellows, I hope you march forth with all the fire you possess. Take this knowledge and build it into your own story, deciding what’s right for you. I firmly believe the public education system is, in many ways, the foundation upon which our democracy and success as a nation is built. I also believe we’re at an inflection point, and that crystal ball is looking awfully murky.
Amy East is a freelance copyeditor, wannabe homesteader, and recovering archaeologist living in Cass County. She loves her family, her menagerie of animals, and her garden, although depending on the day, the order of those may vary.
Any views or opinions expressed in “Critters, Culture, & Compost” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.
