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Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

timeshighereducation.co.uk

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Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#251

Post by dmix »

tyoma wrote: post #225

I see lots of envy from US and UK based people, but not any thought given to the great opportunity: Germany accepts international students. Why not go to a German university and get a quality education paid for by the German taxpayer? As a bonus, you'll get to learn German for free.

Is it even covered for international students?

In Canada international students pay much higher rates for tuition. About $10k for a program that might cost Canadians $3k. It's a huge racket. I'd be surprised if Germans decided to do the same, as well as taxpayers being will to pay for foreigners education.

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#253

Post by [deleted] »

brkn wrote: post #239

I started paying around 250 Euro when starting my study at the university (2009). This term I had to pay aroung 290 Euro. The fee for the TU Berlin is composed of: Verwaltungsgebühr (gem. § 2 Abs. 7 BerlHG) (administrative fee) 50,00 € Beitrag zur Studierendenschaft (Contribution to the student body) 8,70 € Beitrag zum Studentenwerk (Contribution to the Student Services) 48,77 € Beitrag zum Semesterticket (Contributi…

[deleted]

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#254

Post by jiggy2011 »

jrmg wrote: post #216
k-mcgrady wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "consider it a risky option" In the UK system there is no risk. You only have to pay back the loan (form the government) when you are earning over a certain amount per year. It is taken directly from your salary like other taxes. If you never earn enough money you never have to pay it back. If you choose to live and work abroad you don't have to pay either.

People still _perceive_ it as risky - "OMG I'll be in £27,000 in debt after I graduate" - even if it's not actually risky for the reasons you mention! I've long thought that framing it as a graduate tax would be much less discouraging to potential students.

A graduate tax would be worse, because you would never finish repaying it.

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#255

Post by vlunkr »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #19

Has 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 t…

You will also be paying for students who are getting degrees that end up making them no money. When I was in school there were so many people getting fine art degrees focusing on ceramics, oil painting, etc. who are now working at grocery stores or getting some sort of education in new field. Their debts are now on everyone else.

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#256

Post by 0xFFC »

rikacomet wrote: post #6

another 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…

I cant understand this should part of your answer ? why should only applicable for domestic students?

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#257

Post by [deleted] »

thro1237 wrote: post #188
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe a free education, but add a screening process to measure the psychology of the student, help choose a profession or trade that will not be a waste of their time.

This is true. I had to clear an 'entrance examination' to prove my aptitude in engineering. But the problem is the people who would benefit the most from free education (at the lower social/income strata) will most likely have poor aptitude for high-income potential professions as well, because of poor primary and secondary schools they would have had access to. I know that some institutes take such students and prov…

[deleted]

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#258

Post by MarkMc »

thro1237 wrote: post #77
jiggy2011 wrote: post #19

Has 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 t…

I can only provide anecdotal evidence. I come from a poor family and studied in India in a government university by paying $20/year. The cost of providing that education was estimated at $1000/year and private universities used to charge as much. If the government had not provided that subsidy, I would not have taken a loan to the tune of $1000/year because that would have been too risky. I would have opted for the l…

> I would not have taken a loan to the tune of $1000/year because that would have been too risky. I would have opted for the less risky option of herding cows.

What if the loan repayments were a percentage of your salary, rather than a fixed rate? I wonder why these types of loans aren't offered...

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#259

Post by ordinary »

Kurtz79 wrote: post #124
nhaehnle wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Social mobility in Germany is very low, doing consistently worse than e.g. the Scandinavian countries (I remember seeing sources claim that it is even worse than the US, but there seems to be no agreement on that). However, as far as education is concerned, it would be wrong to blame universities. The German school system is very stratified, "locking in" a child's destiny at a young age. Via parents who understand th…

Very low compared to what ? I would say that is lower compared to Scandinavian countries but generally high. From Wikipedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Soc...

Bigger version: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Social_m...

Re: Germany’s great tuition fees U-turn

#260

Post by h43k3r »

thro1237 wrote: post #77
jiggy2011 wrote: post #19

Has 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 t…

I can only provide anecdotal evidence. I come from a poor family and studied in India in a government university by paying $20/year. The cost of providing that education was estimated at $1000/year and private universities used to charge as much. If the government had not provided that subsidy, I would not have taken a loan to the tune of $1000/year because that would have been too risky. I would have opted for the l…

I agree with you.Today, IITs (best engineering universities in india) for example have fees no more than $1000 per semester. Many of my classmates who are from relatively poor background are able to study without worrying about loans and and many of them are doing very well in their careers.
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