I wish this happened in US. The fee part, not the paid to read part :)
Is price significant for public/state universities as well in US?
Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
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Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#12It's really crazy how the students reacted to this when the fees were introduced. They were very low compared to the US, less than 1000 euros for an entire year yet the students responded with mass protests and vandalism. On university also had it's master key(ring?) stolen and had to spend a lot of money to redo every lock. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_University#Protests_a...
If you don't fight hard going from 0€ to 1000€, then you don't have any chance resisting a raise from 1000€ to 50000€ in the next decade. Just look at what happened to, once affordable, education in USA and do the opposite.
In Germany we like to get something in return for the tax we are paying to the state.
Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#13Whilst tuition fees in Ireland have not really risen - registration fees have gone from €200 to €3,000 over the 08-14'recession. In the UK fees have also risen. Finland and Denmark are free. I'm not that familiar with Southern or Eastern Europe.
I think free third level institutions are important but I'm not opposed to the "free now tax later after certain pay threshold" education systems like Australia.
Also [image] this: https://i.imgur.com/SXNtYyi.jpg taken from corrosponding reddit thread is also relevant. It illustrates tuition fees in Europe.
Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#14another version: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/15/german-universi... I basically think this is a very big news. It effects a lot of people. Though I think this only applies (and should) to domestic students. In our country (India) .. the Right to Education Act was a hot topic this year.. it still has to go a long way.. but it can learn from Germany's example of doing away with the fees altogether in Publi…
That's from three and a half years ago and refers to a different state.
Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#15I wish this happened in US. The fee part, not the paid to read part :)
I go to Oakland University in Michigan and we are the only University in the state(country?) to charge no fees. Tuition is still high but that is usually set by the state.
There seems to be a confusion of words here. You seem to make a difference between tuition and tuition fees while the Wikipedia [1] article suggests that those terms mean the same in different English dialects.
As for Germany: almost all public Universities still take fees (usually around 100 Euros per semester, tax refundable). Tuition was a new thing and is what has been abandoned again.
Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#16Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#17Impressive. I wish US would do the same.
From an European point of view, the US university system is crazy.
In many European countries the value of state universities over private ones is very high regarded, that except for a few well renowned exceptions, private universities are seen as places where you buy a title, not earn one.
As they mostly get the students that weren't able to go through the national exams for the state universities.
Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#18There's a big difference between no tuition fees and "free" education. All this means is that the cost of education is passed on to all tax payers.
Now this can be justified, there is utility in having an educated workforce and society. However when everyone is paying there is a need to have a decision about how many people need that education to provide the benefits everyone gets. The UK is seeing these problems with 40% of school leavers going to university. There aren't enough jobs for graduates and we are way past the point of marginal returns in terms of social or cultural advancement.
Personally I much prefer the idea of fees and student loans. Not US style versions of either. In the UK they are effectively a graduate tax that you may pay off in time, they don't harm your credit rating and repayments are a percentage of your income about a relatively high amount (close to the average salary).
Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#19Has there been any extensive research done on relationship between university fees and social mobility?
On one hand it seems obvious that if you reduce costs of attending university you remove a barrier that would prevent economically disadvantaged people from attending.
But on the other hand, university students, especially those at the best universities disproportionately come from better economic backgrounds and this seems to be true everywhere. In this case it doesn't seem fair to tax people who are poor to pay for something that is mainly of benefit to the rich.
In the UK we have a student loan system where students do not have to pay back loans unless they earn over a threshold amount, so in theory there is nothing to prevent a poor person going to university regardless of how high the fees are.
Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn
#20The federal and state universities here in Brazil have always been free. In fact, most people here use the terms "public" as a synonym for "free of charge", when talking about education. I think this is great, but it is not "education for everyone" as sometimes it's touted to be.
The problem we have is not about paying for college education, but in being able to pass the entry exams. Even though the public higher-education institutions are free of any tuition fees, an enormous part of their students is still composed of upper-middle-class kids, whose parents could afford the high-priced private middle and high schools.
It's great we have free public schools, but the inclusion they should provide is still a long ways of becoming true.