Access to Higher Education - Research Paper Example

Access: A report on how student access to higher education has changed since colonial times Introduction Access to higher education has largely been rot with a myriad of changes from the colonial times. This has been due to the fact that, there has been greater demand for ore technocrats over time. This has happened because of the procedural level of enlightenment of the human populace. Good policies on education has equally led to establishment of more colleges and universities, the academic infrastructure in these colleges of higher learning has also improved enormously. This has made it possible to accommodate more students hence increasing the number of those attaining degrees in various disciplines (Thelin, 2011). Access to higher education has been made possible additionally, through grants that are given by states and individual investors as well as alumni of various institutions. Financial institutions of various kinds have also supported students at their private capacities to acquire higher education. Indeed, access to higher education has been underscored by demographic changes, an advancement in enlightenment, and demand for more technocrats as well as opportunities to acquire education among others. This paper gives an elaborate enunciation on the history of development of education access and the factors that underlie the accessibility. It also highlights why access to higher education has been on a steady rise since independence (Ron, 2012). Background Information There has been greater access to higher education the United States over the years. Access being one of the rationale of education in America, guaranteeing that learners with the aspiration and ability get a chance to pursue higher education per se. Access has thus been bolstered through student loans coupled with other modalities such as; supportive education policies, programs and processes by the states and the federal government, the demand of more technocrats has equally put pressure on individuals to equally higher education in order to meet these demands . For instance, in the United States, student’s loans are an aspect of financial assistance that is given to needy students beside, grants and scholarships. This has seen about twelve million students attain higher education out of the possible twenty million learners (Jonathan, 2011). In most parts of the United States, education is no longer a private affair with exceptions of Latin America and some parts of Asia. Most colleges in the United States are funded by learners and their families. Public institutions have however, consistently received support from the state and through domestic taxation. Both the private and public institutions of higher learning have equally received funding from their alumni and from donors. Loans have therefore, underpinned the level of access to higher education among other supplementary factors per se (Woo, 2011). Access to Higher Education That access to higher education of in the United States has increased over the years from the colonial times is greatly evident. This has been due to its affordability. Education has become affordable as results of loans that are given to learners and grants given by states as well as individual investment in education sector. For example, student loans are given in varied categories namely, the federal loans and private students loans. These include non profit state affiliated loans as well as institutional loans that are given by schools. In the early nineteen fifties, the state began offering loans to learners under the auspices of national defense education act (Thelin, 2011). This however, was only given to a selected category of needy learners. For example, it was awarded to learner who pursued degrees in engineering, sciences and education. In nineteen sixties, higher education act extended in order to enhance opportunity to access higher education as well as increase social mobility (Jonathan, 2011). Before twenty ten, the federal loan in cooperated both the direct and guaranteed loans. The former was funded by the United States education department whilst, the latter was funded by private investors. These financial aids were used by learner as a supplement to private and family resources (Pan & Dan, 2008). In addition, private loans given to students by banks, financial firms varied government agencies and excreta. These are either sent to colleges directly or sent to the consumer. The amalgamation of these financial aids has underpinned access to higher learning. This has been coupled with good government education policy. There has also been greater investment in education in terms of infrastructural facilities (Schrag & Pruett, 2010). Education access has additionally been broadened by individual investors in the sector; factors such as lucrative returns that come with attainment of higher education cannot be ignored too. For example, the fact that, those that enjoyed professoriate had access to decent jobs that they could keep a family on led to greater demand for higher education (Woo, 2011). Moreover, government incentives to outstanding learners who became the pride of the state moved most students to seek higher education. Giving loans to students has equally been criticized in equal measure as in appropriate module of enhancing access to higher education. For instance, the loan program has greatly failed to adjust their interest rates to the level of risks that may be beyond the learner’s control. A risk founded approach in pricing can be more appropriate and efficient in allocation financial aid to needy learners (Pan & Dan, 2008). In addition, student loan debt levels have been on the rise, this has been coupled with an increase number of student defaulters. These challenges pose a great burden in society. These challenges have been redressed through, the passage of reform bill on bankruptcy in 2005. This led to the provision of a risk free credit loan to those who lend. Moreover, “Fairness for Struggling Students Act" was launched in January twenty thirteen. Lastly, Andrew Cuomo led investigations that probed the lending practices visa viz anti competitive nature of relationship between the student lenders their colleges (Thelin, 2011). Conclusion Access to higher education has tremendously improved since independence. This is well highlighted in this excerpt. The level of access has been greatly underscored by the provision of loans to learners, the aids that have been given to the institutions of higher learning by that state as well as individuals. This has been coupled by investment in education sector. The federal government has equally been supportive of guaranteeing that there is greater access to higher education. The provision of academic infrastructure too, cannot be ignored when it comes to bolstering access to higher education too (Thelin, 2011). Noble policies, programs and processes in education have contributed largely to the upsurge in attainment of higher education. The pursuit of fulfillment in the rank and file of academic ladder has also pushed most learners to acquire higher education in spite of the challenges that come with it. Opportunities that are in most cases seriously envied by most members of the society are attained by merit founded on degrees obtained from higher institutions of learning. These in general have led to a consistent increase in the number of enrollment in the universities. In summation, a number of factors and modalities have been in place to speed up the realization of higher education access as one of the rationales of education (Woo, 2011). References Jonathan, G. (2011) The Other Big Test: Why Congress Should Allow College Students to Borrow More Through Federal Aid Programs, 14 N.Y.U. J. LEGIS. & PUB. POL’Y 11, 37 Pan, M. & Dan, L. (2008). "A Comparative Analysis On Models of Higher Education Massification" Ron, L. (August 31, 2012). "Last Plea on School Loans: Proving a Hopeless Future." The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2012. Schrag, P. & Pruett, C. (2010) Coordinating Loan Repayment Assistance Programs with New Federal Legislation, 60 J. LEG EDUC. 583, 590-597. Thelin, R.J. (2011) A History of American Higher Education (Second Edition). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. Woo, J.H. (2011) "The Expansion of Private Loans in Postsecondary Education. Stats in Brief. NCES 2012-184" National Center For Education Statistics: ERIC. Web. 21 May 2014 Read More