Higher Education Challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Higher Education Challenges - Essay Example long-standing problems such as racial inequity in education, new challenges like economic recession and falling value of dollar have only made the problem worse to such an extent that it is feared that US needs urgently to reform its higher education system or it will lose its unique position of strength and competitiveness.   (Blue Ribbon Commission) The Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher education further observes: â€Å"Out of every ten 9th graders nationally, only three will obtain an associate’s or bachelor’s degree on time. These results simply are not good enough. We need more people attending and finishing college with a certificate or degree in order to keep up and move up in the global economy.†Ã‚  (Blue Ribbon Commission)    In order to maintain its global competitiveness, the US society should not afford to underestimate the importance of its human resource.   This is even more so important in this new knowledge-based economy where knowledge is its main capital.   Proportion of public funding on higher education has declined over the years in many states.   For example, the state of Connecticut in 1989 received 6.6 percent of the state’s budget.   It declined to 3.9 percent in 1997 and then rose slowly to a peak of 4.5 percent in 2001.   It is again estimated to be 3.9 percent for 2010 budget, matching 1997 low of 3.9 percent.   The trend of reduction in proportional funding within the higher education over the period of 1990s was typical for many states.   This led to the rise in tuition fees for several students.   (Connecticut Public Higher Education)   Such rising costs did not serve the cause of already reeling Blacks and other economically disadvantaged class.   (Johnson)   In the meantime, US has been reduced to only two nations where young population (25-34 years old) is less educated than its older population (35-44 years old)   (Blue Ribbon Commission). This reflects how terrific the situation is, when it comes to higher education.   Over