i need my Argument synthesis essay about American Higher Education System revised and I have attached my paper.

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american_higher_education.docx

HOW TO MAKE HIGHER EDUCATION MORE AFFORDABLE 1

HOW TO MAKE HIGHER EDUCATION MORE AFFORDABLE 2

How To Make Higher Education More Affordable

Antonio Smith

How To Make Higher Education More Affordable

Making higher education affordable to many Americans should be the core goal of our education system. With regard to today’s structure of the economy, the fastest growing occupations require education and training beyond high school credentials. This implies opening doors to more Americans is imperative in ensuring our country’s economic prosperity. However, due to the rising tuition fees in the institutions of higher learning, more and more Americans mainly from poor families are unable to access higher education. This has led to America losing its leading position in the world in college attainment for the youth. Converse to some years back, today, college offers a path to greater financial security, professional growth, and civic engagements. Hence, its attainment is vital for an individual success. However, despite this sordid fact, higher education has increasingly become out of reach of many as the tuition fees increased by over two fifty percent in the last three decades. It pains that almost half of those who joins collages drop outs of school due to financial problems. It is the responsibility of the government and all stakeholders to ensure higher education is accessible to many especially the economically challenged. One solution to this problem is to subsidize tuition fees for students who come from poor families. Moreover, the government should ensure the students’ loan remains affordable by keeping the interests down as possible. As this paper deliberates, making higher education more affordable is invaluable in making most of Americans transit to middle class citizens.

First aspect of this argument is that the government subsidizes tuition fees for students from poor backgrounds. According to Obama’s 2016 fiscal year budget, there is a proposal to make the first two years of college free and universal. This would be of significant help to many students from poor backgrounds, as it would enable them secure an associate degree or certificate at no cost. Subsequently, the remaining two years might be affordable to many Americans.

It can be argued however, that this approach may not guarantee better collage completion. This is mainly because some students may just take the free two years and not per sue the remaining period. Moreover, making the two year free may lower the quality of training lower to limited resources to the college. However, despite the negative implication this policy may have, its benefits prevail as more and more Americans would have college qualifications.

Second facet of this argument is that student loan to be made affordable. The interest rates pegged on the student loan should be reduced to encourage many students apply for the loan. Currently, an average student borrower graduates with nearly thirty thousand dollars in debt. This is too much for a fresh graduate and it may discourage most of them from borrowing ay they might be unable to repay in the future. Lowering this debt may make more students from poor families to apply the loans hence having more college completion.

On the contrary, it can be argued that, lowering the student loan is not the way to make higher education more affordable. This is because there are many loan defaulters and the government may end up dishing out free money. However, a policy in lowering interest on student loan will attract many students to college, as they would be able to meet even their basic needs. To avert defaulting of loans, the government should ensure there enough opportunities for graduates where they can earn and start repaying their loans.

Affordability of higher education in the United States is a thorny one even to the government. The rapid change in technology has demanded an increase in the level of knowledge from employees. This knowledge can only be obtained from institutions of higher learning. Therefore, making higher education more affordable is vital as it empowers most of the American youths to run their own country.

References

Melissa, A (2015, February 4). The 2016 Budget: Improving Opportunity and Affordability in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/blog/2015/02/the-2016-budget-improving-opportunity-and-affordability-in-higher-education

Barack, O (2009, February 7). College Affordability and Completion: Ensuring a Pathway to Opportunity. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/college