Do you think Higher Education in America should be completely funded by taxes?

[ingemann]

I live in a country where most higher education are free (there are a few exceptions). I of course support it, but when I read this thread, one element seem clear, people have very little idea about how such a system would work. There are nothing wrong with that, because it's an entire different system, few people here have experienced. But I think it can be interesting for the discussion, if I give an example of how it can work.

In a the Danish free system, it's usual not expected that everyone goes to college/university, in fact the access are limited by grades and subjects people have received in secondary education.

The so called liberal art education are rather limited and the education lay much more weight on practical use. Of course this are a result of high schools usual being the place where people are taught the liberal art education. So it's a much more specialised education you enter. If you want to be economist, lawyer, doctor, nurse etc. You start in a specialised education from the start. There are some exception Roskilde and Aalborg universities start with a more broad education from the start, but still you have to choose between hard sciences (chemistry, physics etc.), soft science(economy, sociology etc.) or humanities (history, literature etc) from the start on those two universities (both these universities also have a lower reputation than Copenhagen, Aarhus and DTU, which are much more specialised).

I think both these elements are unavoidable in a free system, you have to limit the access to universities and second you have to produce more practical education. Of course that's also easier, simply due to the fact that the students are no longer the consumer, rather the state are the consumer and it demand students who are useful for society.

Who benefit? Well of course the state benefit, but the group of people who gain the most are the middle class who no longer need to carry the financial burden of their children gaining a higher education. The poor also gain from it, but their benefit are smaller as children from poor families tend to have lower grades. For the rich there little benefits one way or another. It's not more expensive for them, because the state don't give the universities more money than in USA), through they have the benefit of a well educated work force.

The losers are the universities, who are forced to deliver a higher quality products and have to negotiate the with the state which are in a stronger negotiation position. So they receive fewer money per students than their American counterparts. Of course they gain the benefit of more mature and goal oriented students.