Diane Dietz has the very informative story here. As the article explains, the main effect of this is to encourage 4 year graduation, because after 4 years the tuition bumps up by the full amount of the past 4 years of increases. On-time graduation rates are heavily weighted in the US News rankings (Which were just announced, UO rose from 106 to 103.) On the other hand tuition is a small part of the cost of a fifth year of college, particularly for in-state students.
At schools where 4 year guarantees are optional the take-up rates are low. Still, maybe it’s a useful marketing ploy for admissions, particularly if it’s optional.
I have no comment on the tuition shell game, but clearly I am out of touch. My jaw dropped when I saw this in the article:
“The UO’s annual tuition and fees this year is $10,289 for residents.”
Wait, what? Really? And that’s the nominal cost, before any financial aid or scholarships? What an incredible bargain. I know it’s not like the old days when you could scoop ice cream over the summer and pay for your whole tuition, room, and board for the school year, but still, that is a remarkable deal for access to the sort of education that is available, if you’re willing to work for it, at the UO.
A few years tarring roofs should pay for an undergraduate degree (room, tuition, books, food).
A hot-tar roof is a poor choice for wet climates such as Oregon’s. I learned this the hard way.
There’s also a $3Million way to learn about structural insulated panels as poor choice for our climate, too, as PCC discovered…
A bargain compared to out-of-state tuition? Yes.
A bargain compared to universities in other advanced countries? No.
We can apple and orange that one all day. As far as I know, we pay lower taxes here in the US, which means we end up paying more out of pocket for things like education and health care. I’m not a fan either, but given that structure, $10K per year for four years to get access to the UO faculty and a BA or BS degree on your resume is well worth the cost, and the opportunity cost.