Columbia
US Institutions of Higher Learning (USIHL)
DOGE needs to assess US colleges and universities.
1) Foreign countries contribute to USIHL, which means they can influence teaching liturgies and
1) Foreign countries contribute to USIHL, which means they can influence teaching liturgies and
social life on campuses and have access to research results. Should foreign countries be allowed to contract research projects, using USIHL intellectual assets?
2) I've read that some USIHLs have massive amounts of money laid aside. If USIHLs have money to invest, why do they need government funds? I liken this to immigrants on US welfare who then send money back to their home countries. Improper taxpayer support.
3) Affordable living costs in America depend partly on affordable tuition costs for essential occupations, hence affordable student loans. I don’t believe in free college, for I've read that free college breeds indifferent students with higher drop-out rates. We all need to have some skin in whatever playing field we are on. But education for essential occupations should not be so expensive that it raises everyone's cost of living.
4) USIHLs are the source of a lot of political unrest, often with spoiled rich students who need to feel socially useful, and egged-on by professors who want to destroy the Electoral College in favor of pure democracy. It seems that the closer to the people the decision-making is done, the more democratic the process will be.
5) USIHLs that hate Israel should be US-defunded, and student visas for them be tightly-managed.
6) Should USIHLs allow foreign students work on US-funded research projects, particularly those that have national security implications? And shouldn't US students always be favored
2) I've read that some USIHLs have massive amounts of money laid aside. If USIHLs have money to invest, why do they need government funds? I liken this to immigrants on US welfare who then send money back to their home countries. Improper taxpayer support.
3) Affordable living costs in America depend partly on affordable tuition costs for essential occupations, hence affordable student loans. I don’t believe in free college, for I've read that free college breeds indifferent students with higher drop-out rates. We all need to have some skin in whatever playing field we are on. But education for essential occupations should not be so expensive that it raises everyone's cost of living.
Nursing degrees and teaching degrees should not cost so much that healthcare and property taxes are unaffordable. Medicare/Medicaid could negotiate lower rates if nurses could get affordable training and then have lower wages, but with the same standard of living.
Property taxes could be lower - with the same arrangement for teachers.
Gov’t funding should be coupled with tuition rate control and rent control of student housing.
Should student loans for nurses and teachers be denied to schools that charge too much tuition? This would force these students to find more-affordable schools.
A few years ago, while working in a hospital's EVS Dept, I explored the reason for the then-current nursing shortage.
> One reason was - exorbitant nursing tuitions kept frugal candidates out of nursing school.
> The second reason was a shortage of nursing professors. Apparently, the pay difference between
a nurse and a nursing professor is so tilted in the favor of the nurses, that qualified nursing
professionals would have to take a pay cut to become professors.
This is wrong on so many levels, especially when a college won’t pay prospective teachers
enough to leave nursing - but still charge very high tuitions for nursing students.
4) USIHLs are the source of a lot of political unrest, often with spoiled rich students who need to feel socially useful, and egged-on by professors who want to destroy the Electoral College in favor of pure democracy. It seems that the closer to the people the decision-making is done, the more democratic the process will be.
So… one option is to suggest that research grants to USIHLs be shouldered by the states that the USIHL resides in, in both the funding and the choosing of underwritten research projects.
* Particularly, that each proposed study be on the State ballot for the voters’ approval or rejection. Other states could subscribe to the project, if it might help their state. Almost pure Democracy...
Such state control might also pare down the cost of research projects. It might help control ‘confetti-funding’, where money is thrown around like confetti during a parade.
Let’s do what we can to bring democracy closer to home – let’s make USIHL research projects a matter of ballot-driven politics.
Let’s do what we can to bring democracy closer to home – let’s make USIHL research projects a matter of ballot-driven politics.
5) USIHLs that hate Israel should be US-defunded, and student visas for them be tightly-managed.
6) Should USIHLs allow foreign students work on US-funded research projects, particularly those that have national security implications? And shouldn't US students always be favored
in US-funded research projects?
