Unlikely.
However, the question, posed by Professor William Tierney of Southern California University in a recent column, merits at least some consideration.
While the sale -- approximately $2.3 billion in Tierney's estimation -- would likely help California right now, it would be a mistake to expect this to be a good long-term solution.
The CSU system is comprised of 23 schools up and down the Golden State and houses nearly 450,00 students. The University of Phoenix is home to the roughly 225,000 full-time students nationwide.
California State, Universities
Despite a sale not being in the best interest of the state, would it be all bad for the students?
Education is being hit hard by the budget crisis, and the CSU is not immune to this. The students are suffering through higher fees and less education -- not exactly a good combination for success and happiness.
With the acquisition, the private-profit higher learning institution would not have to worry about the money woes of a particular state, such as California. It would be able to determine fees and likely keep said fees consistent. That would be a draw for students, knowing what the fixed cost would be to go to school.
University of Phoenix tuition fees are about $12,000 a year, compared to the $4,000-plus I am paying for tuition this year at Sacramento State.
A Phoenix-run CSU would likely cost more than current CSU fees, but not as much as the current Phoenix tuition. Besides, who's to say the CSU fees would not increase in the coming years, thanks to the poor economy and budget predicament?
The government, not just in California, is not doing its job. Government has always said education is important, yet even basic cuts are being made from community colleges.
For instance, enrollment at San Joaquin Delta College is being capped at 16,000 students. Also, some general education classes that are to be expected at a junior college are being cut. With class cuts come larger class sizes, which decreases the quality of education.
If these cuts are being made at community college, you better believe it's coming to the university system. And the CSU will be first targeted first.
Some would argue that the cuts and changes are already here. It is likely to get worse.
Still, despite all the negatives with the CSU right now, it is still better than a Phoenix-run State University system. Better for students and better for the state.
A transaction like this has little chance of happening because there are just too many moving pieces and would likely be a logistical nightmare. California must realize that it is not in its best interest to move an asset like the CSU for short-term help.
Things look bad now and probably won't get better in the near future, but things will ultimately get better. When that day comes, California will be extremely pleased, and fortunate, to still own the State University system.
I'm perfectly fine being a Hornet. Let the Phoenixes be Phoenixes.
This column starts out cleverly and states the position quite well.
ReplyDeleteIt bogs down midway, as if the writer got tired.
This sentence, for example:
"A Phoenix-run CSU would likely cost more than current CSU fees, but not as much as the current Phoenix tuition."
Interesting idea, but, why wouldn't it cost the same as what the University of Phoenix charges?
In other spots, the writer would have answered that question.
And later, there were some other unanswered questions, issues that the writer must have thought out, but didn't share the specifics.
"A transaction like this has little chance of happening because there are just too many moving pieces and would likely be a logistical nightmare."
Agreed, but name a couple, por favor?
A good column with a few logistical issues of its own.
But at a University of Phoenix, the writer wouldn't even be able to take a class like column writing.
Probably.