Alternative Energy

 

Specific Purpose: Persuasive Speech

I. Introduction

a. Attention getter- Have you as a college student ever felt scared because you were low on money? Have you ever felt like you were going to give up college because of financial reasons?

b. clearly introduce topic- The cost of college tuition has increased over the years for many different reasons. Are these reasons for the increase in tuition logical or should the cost of tuition go down or possibly even be free?

c. tell why the topic is important- Many students don’t understand what their tuition money goes towards or why the tuition continues to increase. Also, some students cannot afford to attend college.

d. explain your credibility- I am a college student who is full-time, works two different jobs, and lives on my own. I have to face the financial burdens every day and budget my money as I receive it.

e. Thesis- As all of you know, the increasing costs of college tuition and the low college participation rate is a huge problem. This morning I am going to explain the causes of these problem and then give some solutions for these problems.

II. Main Point: The two major problems that colleges and universities, and college students and parents are dealing with are the increasing costs of college tuition and the college participation rate dropping.

A. In 2014, the US Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics wrote in the “Tuition Costs of Colleges and Universities” the cost of tuition to attend college has rose higher and higher over the years.

1. From the beginning of 1983 till the end of 2001 the cost of tuition rose from $4,167 to $10,820 for a year.

2. From 2000 to 2005 the price rose from $10,820 to $14,634.

3. From 2005 to 2015 the cost of tuition went from $14,634 to $21,003.

B. In 2012, Kelly Field wrote in the Chronicle of Higher Education that student debt will just continue to raise through the years if something isn’t done.

1. Field states that the “Overall student debt exceeds $1 trillion, which is more than all the credit-card debt Americans owe.”

2. “The average debt per person is $25,000, the highest level of student debt in the nation’s history”, Field goes on to say. “Of course, students who went on to earn graduate and professional degrees often owe tens of thousands more.”

C. In 2014, the US Department of Education and the National Center of Education Statistics wrote in the “College Participation Rates” that the participation rate is increasing still, but it continues to get less and less.

1. The total college enrollment rate at 2- and 4-year colleges and universities increased from 32 percent in 1990 to 40 percent in 2013.

2. However, many students now are debating whether the debt of college is worth it.

III. Main Point: In 2016, Kunal Jasty wrote in the article “Where Does All That Money Go?” on radioopensource.org how university’s make their money and then where all of that money goes.

A. Public universities make their money by

1. Local Appropriations, setting apart money for its application to a particular usage.

2. State Appropriations

3. Independent Operations

4. Federal Appropriations

5. Gifts

6. Non-operating Grants

7. Other Operating Revenues

8. Net Sales of Auxiliary Enterprises

9. Hospital Revenue

10. Operating Grants and Contracts

11. Tuition and Fees

12. Other

B. Public universities use that money to

1. Instruction, the cost that it takes to employ all of the faculty members.

2. Research, for example: research institutes, labs, and individual research.

3. Hospital Services

4. Auxiliary Enterprises, for example: residence halls, athletics, and dining halls.

5. Institutional Support, for example: general administration and management and public relations.

6. Academic Support, for example: administrators, deans, and libraries.

7. Public Service, for example: conferences, institutes, and reference bureaus.

8. Operations and Maintenance, for example: utilities, insurance, and maintaining facilities.

9. Student Services, for example: admissions, counseling, student activities, and organizations.

10. Scholarships and Fellowships, for example: grants, awards, and stipends.

11. Depreciation, losses in capital assets per year.

12. Independent Operations, indirect enhancement of programs.

C. The decrease in state and federal funds is beginning to hurt colleges and universities also.

1. Decreased state funding. Jasty says that, “Students of non-research institutions, such as community colleges, experience rising tuition costs not because of out of control institutional spending, but because of a shift in where schools receive their money. Students and families are spending more for the same quality of education because of cuts in state spending on public higher education, despite the fact that institutional spending has either stayed the same or even decreased in some cases.”

2. Increase in spending. According to Jasty “Many research universities have continued to increase spending while state and local funding has decreased, and tuition increases have been used to make up for this growing discrepancy. However, tuition increases simply can’t keep up with the increase in spending.”

3. Prestige, the act of competing with other colleges to draw as many students in as possible. Therefore, they buy things that increase their status and prestige in relation to their competitors. For example, building things and having construction underway.

IV. Main Point: As Beelineweb.com explains in their article “Should College Be Free? Pros, Cons, and Alternatives”, making college tuition free to all college students would cause some major problems throughout the country.

A. The expense for the federal and state governments would be outrageous long term.

1. Americans may have to start paying much higher taxes.

2. The economy could be hurt because people may have a lot less to spend and invest.

B. As Beelineweb.com goes on to say, free higher education isn’t necessary for building some of the world’s most educated workforces.

1. The social mobility throughout America wouldn’t likely improve because of free public college.

2. For example, think about all of the responsibilities of adult and non-traditional learners who have challenges thataren’t strictly financial.

C. With a tuition-free status, more people would attend public colleges making

1. Them expand or build on.

2. Waitlists may also be made if too many people try and attend.

3. Cuts and decreased access into the programs that students want to take might happen also.

D. The cost of living still would have to be paid for by the students. Therefore, school wouldn’t be debt free for the students because of

1. Living expenses, such as the expense of a dorm or apartment.

2. Books and supplies, the needed material for each class.

E. The value of each degree would decrease with more people earning degrees and diplomas.

1. This could lead to a rise in underemployed workers because a lot of people would have the same qualifications.

F. College wouldn’t be taken as seriously because it is free and anyone can enter and be involved.

1. Graduation numbers would drop because less people would graduate with a diploma.

2. Graduates may not be as prepared for the workforce if they could be because class sizes rose and hands-on projects weren’t accessible.

V. Main Point: There are many different things that college students and parents can think about and do to try and lower to expense of college tuition for them.

A. Apply for scholarships.

1. There are thousands of scholarships given out yearly in every state. Many of these scholarships are high dollar scholarships, ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 a year.

2. Many scholarships aren’t even applied for yearly. Therefore, the money doesn’t get used or spent because no one applied for it.

B. Receiving and applying for grants.

1. A grant is a sum of money given by an organization, especially a government, for a particular purpose.

2. Many students and parents don’t know about grants, therefore they don’t receive them even when they do qualify.

3. Thousands of grants are given out every semester to aid college students.

VI. Conclusion

A. The four major topics that are talked about when speaking about college tuition are:

1. The increasing costs of college tuition and the lower college participation rates.

2. The causes of these problems, where the college tuition money is going and the cuts being made between the state and federal funds.

3. Should college tuition be free to everyone

4. What are some ways that parents and students can cut down the cost?

B. As Beelineweb.com continues to say “Like other students, you might have a lot of options available to you. But the longer you wait to begin your post-secondary education, the more opportunities you may be missing out on. So even though “Should college be free?” is a question worth debating, the best action to take right now is probably to investigate the many helpful possibilities that already exist.”