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专家们讨论美国高等教育的财政前景

时间:2018-02-25 17:20:21

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Experts Debate Financial Future of American Higher Education

Sweet Briar College is a small, private women’s college in the American state of Virginia. In 2015, the school’s governing board grew concerned about its financial future and considered closing the school.

But after a change in leadership and the hard work of its employees and former students, Sweet Briar stayed open.

Now, almost three years later, Sweet Briar College is “doing remarkably1 well,” says Teresa Tomlinson. She is the head of the school’s board of directors. She says the schools has been able to buy back $8 million of its debt and reduce its operating costs by almost $15 million.

Tomlinson told VOA that the school was able to help its financial situation by making changes to its study program. Sweet Briar now aims to better meet the needs of the next generation of students by tying their studies to the demands of the modern working world.

However, not all small, private colleges like Sweet Briar have been able to keep up with the changing demands. In recent months, some have said they can no longer operate. For example, St. Gregory’s University in Oklahoma, Memphis College of Art and Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska have all announced they will be closing.

These announcements made observers question what the future may be for American higher education.

The research company Gallup asked chief business officers at more than 400 American schools whether they agree with media reports that tell of a financial crisis in higher education. About 70 percent of them said they believe those reports are correct. Gallup released the public opinion study last August.

Valerie Calderon is a senior researcher with Gallup. She says such concerns may come from the fact many Americans feel they have less money to spend on higher education.

The cost of higher education in the country has increased greatly over the past 30 years. Also, the U.S. economy, Calderon says, has been growing at a slower rate. This has made some American families think twice about investing a lot of money in a costly2 degree program, she says.

Fewer students are enrolling3 in higher education programs, the National Student Clearinghouse found. The organization studies American education. Last year, it reported that the overall number of students in higher education programs was 1.5 percent less than the year before.

So, why have the costs of higher education gone up so much? Calderon says part of the reason is because schools are employing more administrators4.

“Colleges have employed more highly paid professionals who don’t teach, driving up the ratio of workers per student,” she told VOA.

Ken5 Redd is a senior researcher with the National Association of College and University Business Officers. He says that schools have, in fact, employed more people whose jobs do not directly relate to teaching. But that is because of the changing nature of who the schools’ students are, he says.

Many colleges and universities have been doing more in recent years to help poor students get an education, for example. Redd says these students may need more support in their studies, because they often went to high schools that did not prepare them well for college.

Redd also says many schools are doing more to support students who face other difficulties, such as physical and mental health issues. This means schools must hire support staff.

All these efforts cost the schools money, which means their tuition costs may rise.

In addition, the U.S. government has created more rules that colleges and universities must follow. For example, in 2015 the Department of Education began holding schools responsible for creating an office to receive and investigate complaints of sexual harassment6 and discrimination. This came as part of a greater effort to enforce the law known as Title IX. Such efforts add extra costs, Redd says.

Redd adds that many schools have tried hard to combat the rising costs for students. Financial aid awards have increased overall. Some schools also employ special reductions and limits to tuition increases.

But Redd does have concerns. He says that a decreasing number of students and limited financial resources could put small, private schools at risk of closing, especially rural ones. He fears the effect this may have on students growing up in rural areas.

“Eight out of ten students … in the United States go to a college within 20 miles [or 32 kilometers] of their home,” Redd said. “A school closing in a rural community would not necessarily lead to students picking up and going to a college in the city or going to a college in another state.”

In other words, the students may choose to not pursue higher education at all.

But Richard Ekman of the Council of Independent Colleges, or CIC, remains7 unconcerned. His organization represents more than 650 private colleges and universities across the U.S.

He says recent media reports of a higher education crisis are untrue. He adds that, historically, few colleges have closed permanently8. Schools that come close to closing are often bought by or combined with other similar or larger schools.

“Not all will succeed, of course,” Ekman said. “But most will, to judge from what we’ve seen so far. That won’t stop the business officers from worrying. But it means that very few colleges go out of business.”

During the 2011-2012 school year, for example, just 10 colleges and universities across the country closed, according to the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. At that time, the United States was facing a severe economic recession.

Ekman says that for schools to survive, they need to try to appeal to students in different ways.

For example, Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, took note of the local area’s growing industry for small, independent breweries9. So it designed a program to train students in brewing10. And Adrian College in Michigan observed a lack of schools with competitive college fishing teams. So the school started one, drawing in students who were looking to join the nationally recognized sport.

I’m Pete Musto.

And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

board – n. a group of people who manage or direct a company or organization

remarkably – adv. done in a way that is unusual or surprising

degree – n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university

enroll(ing) – v. to become a member or participant

administrator(s) – n. a person whose job is to manage a company, school, or other organization

professional(s) – n. someone who does a job that requires special training, education, or skill

ratio – n. the relationship that exists between the size, number, or amount of two things and that is often represented by two numbers

hire – v. the relationship that exists between the size, number, or amount of two things and that is often represented by two numbers

staff – n. to give work or a job to someone in exchange for wages or a salary

tuition – n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there

combat – v. to try to stop something from happening or getting worse

pursue – v. to try to get or do something over a period of time

according to – prep. as stated, reported, or recorded by (someone or something

appeal to – p.v. to be liked by someone

breweries – n. companies that makes beer, an alcoholic drink made from malt and flavored with hops


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 remarkably EkPzTW     
ad.不同寻常地,相当地
参考例句:
  • I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
  • He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。
2 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
3 enrolling be8b886d0a6622fbb0e477f03e170149     
v.招收( enrol的现在分词 );吸收;入学;加入;[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 );登记,招收,使入伍(或入会、入学等),参加,成为成员;记入名册;卷起,包起
参考例句:
  • They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
  • You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了,比利。 来自辞典例句
4 administrators d04952b3df94d47c04fc2dc28396a62d     
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 );有管理(或行政)才能的人;(由遗嘱检验法庭指定的)遗产管理人;奉派暂管主教教区的牧师
参考例句:
  • He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员,但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
  • Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
5 ken k3WxV     
n.视野,知识领域
参考例句:
  • Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
  • Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.
6 harassment weNxI     
n.骚扰,扰乱,烦恼,烦乱
参考例句:
  • She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
  • The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。
7 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
8 permanently KluzuU     
adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地
参考例句:
  • The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
  • The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
9 breweries 4386fb1ac260e1c3efc47594007a5543     
酿造厂,啤酒厂( brewery的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • In some cases, this is desirable, but most breweries prefer lighter-type beers. 在一些情况下,这是很理想的,但是大多数啤酒厂更倾向于生产酒度较低的啤酒。
  • Currently, there are 58 breweries producing Snow Beeracross the country. 目前,全国共有58个雪花啤酒厂。
10 brewing eaabd83324a59add9a6769131bdf81b5     
n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然,一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
  • She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

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