https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2024/12/should-english-majors-pay-less/

In a sign that colleges are taking falling enrollment rates seriously, the notion of different tuition rates for different majors is floated.

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Slowing population growth, mounting skepticism of academia, and various other factors have provoked college leaders-at least perceptive ones-to craft novel strategies to navigate these perilous waters. Universities will be increasingly competing for a shrinking pool of customers in the years to come. How these institutions differentiate themselves and win over students will determine their ability to survive in the 21st century.
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In light of such shifts, a growing share of institutions are weighing the adoption of differential tuition (DT) policies. Conceptually, the model is simple. Instead of charging a flat rate for tuition regardless of major area or degree program, universities charge tuition based on the instructional costs of particular areas of study. Mechanical engineering majors, for instance, would likely pay higher tuition than English majors at a university implementing DT.

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Stem would cost more than liberal arts in this scheme.

We need more technical majors, not less. It should cost more to get an english degree than a math/engineering degree.

So punish those who will become productive to subsidize those will become drains.

Classic Dem ass backwards solution

Instead they should be competing for ME majors with lower tuition and over charging for people who want a useless degree to discourage it

FriendlyAg said:

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We need more technical majors, not less. It should cost more to get an english degree than a math/engineering degree.

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This

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In light of such shifts, a growing share of institutions are weighing the adoption of differential tuition (DT) policies. Conceptually, the model is simple. Instead of charging a flat rate for tuition regardless of major area or degree program, universities charge tuition based on the instructional costs of particular areas of study. Mechanical engineering majors, for instance, would likely pay higher tuition than English majors at a university implementing DT.

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Lab fees and such are already a separate line item, so you can't claim that is teh higher cost? Professors require more pay I presume to teach vs going to the private sector?

Granted, this will only steer more kids to degrees with limited economic viability, especially at the Bachelor only level.

Maybe it's a step... But the real answer is Universities need to get their costs under control and a dramatic overhaul/gutting of the student loan programs.

Good point.

Another option would be for English majors (or gender studies etc) to renounce their right to vote until they are 50.

We will get what is incentivized. And we all know where this is headed. Paying for you degree will get means tested based on income and race.

So, if you are low income and want to pursue a STEM degree then you will get subsidized by the white guy who is forced to pay more for same degree. I realize this already happens with scholarships and other avenues but this will be one channel for that.

If anything, they should incentivize to get more STEM degrees as others have already said.

OR, or...these universities could cut the massive amount of bloat they have thereby resulting in no need to raise prices. They are operating with a federal government mentality here. No talk of cutting costs; just raising taxes.

Unpopular opinion: We need liberal arts graduates and careers, including English Lit, Art History, and Archeology, etc. they are vital to a healthy and creative culture. Many of these people have contributed greatly to our understanding of the past and helped design beautiful and functional products.

HOWEVER, we should not be corrupting and watering down those majors into political brainwashing centers. We also need students to understand real world applications of these skills. I don't want to live in a world where engineers are the only people designing cars. It would be an ugly world.

FriendlyAg said:

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We need more technical majors, not less. It should cost more to get an english degree than a math/engineering degree.

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The solution is to eliminate federal student loans. An English degree should cost next to nothing (classics are cheap and commentaries are broadly available)… but a bank should charge you 30% on loans used for it given the probability of default on those loans.

A STEM degree should cost more (facilities, labs, worthwhile professors, etc) but banks should lend those students at something closer to 5% due to the probability that they can pay it back.

ETA: the net effect would be less $ available to borrow for worthless degrees.

Also, if a school receives $ from the STATE, then the state should absolutely have a say in the # and type of degrees offered. A&M and sip system schools should be heavily geared toward degrees which have promising economic value to the state.

Universities, especially those with big endowments should incentivize STEM and other majors supporting fields with a need for an influx of workers. The US has been falling behind for decades, and reducing/subsidizing tuition in these areas might help turn that around or at least slow the bleeding.

Maroon Dawn said:

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So punish those who will become productive to subsidize those will become drains.

Classic Dem ass backwards solution

Instead they should be competing for ME majors with lower tuition and over charging for people who want a useless degree to discourage it

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I have told all three of my daughters that I will not contribute anything to their education if it's not a STEM degree. First daughter: MechE CO School of Mines. Second in's daughter: has applied for MechE CO School of Mines. Third daughter: wants to be a vet. Maybe I'll finally get my Aggie out of the bunch. lol

My son's tuition is already higher as a freshman mechanical engineering major at A&M than it is for other majors. It's ridiculous.

Let the schools price it however they want. Just make the schools cosign the note for any student loans.

So with that logic, maybe they should be paying people to major in agriculture?

fightingfarmer09 said:

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Unpopular opinion: We need liberal arts graduates and careers, including English Lit, Art History, and Archeology, etc. they are vital to a healthy and creative culture. Many of these people have contributed greatly to our understanding of the past and helped design beautiful and functional products.

HOWEVER, we should not be corrupting and watering down those majors into political brainwashing centers. We also need students to understand real world applications of these skills. I don't want to live in a world where engineers are the only people designing cars. It would be an ugly world.

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I don't think it's unpopular; I think most of us agree with this.

The problem is what you said...those degrees have been fully hijacked by the left and are now indoctrination programs.

A&M has had this concept for a long time.

https://engineering.tamu.edu/admissions-and-aid/undergraduate-admissions/differential-tuition.html

Whats the cost of teaching Math, Statistics, or Physics courses versus teaching Philosophy or History?

I would guess any highly regarded philosophers, historians, political scientists, etc. likely charge as much as any math, statistics, or physics professor (who is actually teaching).

I would assume that non-stem professors are going to get PAID the same discount % compared to stem professors?

Kenneth_2003 said:

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In light of such shifts, a growing share of institutions are weighing the adoption of differential tuition (DT) policies. Conceptually, the model is simple. Instead of charging a flat rate for tuition regardless of major area or degree program, universities charge tuition based on the instructional costs of particular areas of study. Mechanical engineering majors, for instance, would likely pay higher tuition than English majors at a university implementing DT.

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Lab fees and such are already a separate line item, so you can't claim that is teh higher cost? Professors require more pay I presume to teach vs going to the private sector?

Granted, this will only steer more kids to degrees with limited economic viability, especially at the Bachelor only level.

Maybe it's a step... But the real answer is Universities need to get their costs under control and a dramatic overhaul/gutting of the student loan programs.

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This. Universities have, unfortunately, created their own administrative state which needs cleaning out.

A_Gang_Ag_06 said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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So punish those who will become productive to subsidize those will become drains.

Classic Dem ass backwards solution

Instead they should be competing for ME majors with lower tuition and over charging for people who want a useless degree to discourage it

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I have told all three of my daughters that I will not contribute anything to their education if it's not a STEM degree. First daughter: MechE CO School of Mines. Second in's daughter: has applied for MechE CO School of Mines. Third daughter: wants to be a vet. Maybe I'll finally get my Aggie out of the bunch. lol

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I have a biochem child about the graduate and go foe a doctorate. Child #2 is studying economics and Spanish, and also learning Greek, Hindi, Mandarin, and Russian. Happy for her that she didn't feel forced to go into STEM.

It's called supply and demand.
Demand for valuable degrees are high
Demand for **** degrees are going down

This is capitalism at work. I'm rather surprised these liberal institutions figured it out.

Supply demand baby! Just like gravity, it always works!

Genders studies degree and similar ilk aren't worth a nickel so 3 or 4 cents would be fair compensation to the university.

oldcrow91 said:

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Genders studies degree and similar ilk aren't worth a nickel so 3 or 4 cents would be fair compensation to the university.

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How much can it cost to get someone to recite, "White man bad" back to you?

tysker said:

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Whats the cost of teaching Math, Statistics, or Physics courses versus teaching Philosophy or History?

I would guess any highly regarded philosophers, historians, political scientists, etc. likely charge as much as any math, statistics, or physics professor (who is actually teaching).

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The highly regarded profs don't like to teach. Heck, most profs don't like to teach, especially undergrad courses. Profs like to research and publish in prestigious journals and collect accolades from their peers at big conferences, talk to reporters and government wonks as subject matter experts, write books and go on television shows.

They don't like to teach.

A_Gang_Ag_06 said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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So punish those who will become productive to subsidize those will become drains.

Classic Dem ass backwards solution

Instead they should be competing for ME majors with lower tuition and over charging for people who want a useless degree to discourage it

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I have told all three of my daughters that I will not contribute anything to their education if it's not a STEM degree. First daughter: MechE CO School of Mines. Second in's daughter: has applied for MechE CO School of Mines. Third daughter: wants to be a vet. Maybe I'll finally get my Aggie out of the bunch. lol

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Found the Asian.
Reminds me of my parents, you can be anything you want, as long as it's an engineer or doctor.
And congrats on getting you daughters into awesome schools

DallasAg 94 said:

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I don't know so much as punish.

If a Mechanical Engineer makes twice what an English major makes... would it not correlate that an ME Prof costs more than an English Prof?!

When I took EE106 and Chem... we had extensive labs that included additional costs. Go through the Chem building and Bio labs. Even Cad, Computer labs, etc.

I'm not sure if the History dept has a lab like those.

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You can find out pretty quickly which posters actually believe in market forces when the STEM FOR EVERYONE topics come up.

Get the government out of backing loans.

The rest will work itself out.

I paid lots of lab fees during my time at A&M, but I never got any Labradors.

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The highly regarded profs don't like to teach. Heck, most profs don't like to teach, especially undergrad courses.

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I had some great profs who enjoyed teaching and were good at it. But they were mostly either already tenured, or willing to do with a little less income.

techno-ag said:

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https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2024/12/should-english-majors-pay-less/

In a sign that colleges are taking falling enrollment rates seriously, the notion of different tuition rates for different majors is floated.

Quote:

---

Slowing population growth, mounting skepticism of academia, and various other factors have provoked college leaders-at least perceptive ones-to craft novel strategies to navigate these perilous waters. Universities will be increasingly competing for a shrinking pool of customers in the years to come. How these institutions differentiate themselves and win over students will determine their ability to survive in the 21st century.
…
In light of such shifts, a growing share of institutions are weighing the adoption of differential tuition (DT) policies. Conceptually, the model is simple. Instead of charging a flat rate for tuition regardless of major area or degree program, universities charge tuition based on the instructional costs of particular areas of study. Mechanical engineering majors, for instance, would likely pay higher tuition than English majors at a university implementing DT.

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Stem would cost more than liberal arts in this scheme.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. -- Karl Marx

DallasAg 94 said:

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I don't know so much as punish.

If a Mechanical Engineer makes twice what an English major makes... would it not correlate that an ME Prof costs more than an English Prof?!

When I took EE106 and Chem... we had extensive labs that included additional costs. Go through the Chem building and Bio labs. Even Cad, Computer labs, etc.

I'm not sure if the History dept has a lab like those.

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Ah a tax on unrealized gains. How novel.