TheEducationMisconnection

Greetings, readers!

Firstly, I would like to apologize for not blogging as much for the past month or keeping you all up-to-date on my price research. As I announced in a previous entry, I am in the middle of relocating and have yet to secure internet access at my new residence. That being said, please grant me some leniency over the next month or two as I start to settle into my new home.

I also must confess that I have reading a multitude of books lately on the founding fathers of our country and on corner stones of American history (like President Lincoln). This has kept my mind sharp while I take the fall semester off and distracted at the same time. As for the reason why I have been reading these things, I cannot say because I am not entirely sure. I simply woke up one morning and felt the overwhelming need to read about them. Strangest thing, really.

Oh, well.

Today, I visited the sites for both University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Alabama (UA) campuses with the interest of finding out which of the two would be the better bargain. During my research, I attempted to get in contact with a UAB representative for clarification on their tuition rates but was unsuccessful at every number I found. However, I have taken the time to get the pages that contain the basic information on tuition for both campuses. Feel free to click them, study them, and to contact the schools for your own questions. I would recommend waiting until the semester is well under way before making any serious attempts for calls or visits. Many departments are available for contact via email during this busy time of the academic year.

UAB tuition page link

https://www.uab.edu/students/paying-for-college/current/detailed-tuition-and-fees

UA tuition page link

(click on the description that best fits your academic needs for rates)

One of the things that I love most about my real job is the fact that I get to talk to all kinds of people every day. For the past month, I have spoken with many parents of first time college students and listened while they expressed concern over the many costs of their children's education. Last night was of no exception to this as a mother marveled at the cost of her daughter's nursing program textbooks. 

Turns out, as with many of the parents that I have spoken with recently, the college had convinced her and her daughter that they had to buy all of the books and other school supplies from the campus itself. That is when I spoke up and suggested to them to look for their textbooks online on sites such as Amazon, Ebay, and even Craigslist. At first, the mother was heavily skeptical about the whole notion until I told her that, a few semesters ago, I found my science textbook online for $5 in a gently used condition while the campus bookstore was asking $200 for the same book in the same condition. I also explained that I found a grammar book for an advanced English class online for less than a dollar and with matching shipping. How much did my book store want for the same book in the same condition? Almost $300.

At this point, the mother's eyes were rather wide in amazement, as were her daughter's, and asked how to make sure that they were getting the right book from an online provider. I told them that doing that was simple: Just visit the campus bookstore with a note pad and a pen. Write down the ISBN numbers of the books and search for that when using sites like Amazon or Ebay. I also recommended to them to take a picture of the book(s) so they can make sure they get the right book if they deal with a private local seller through services such as Craigslist (and, of course, reminded them to meet their Craigslist contacts in very public places and to deal with exact change).

This fall, the University of Alabama is looking at a record breaking enrollment that has the officials of the school both very happy and very concerned at the same time. While they are excited for the money that they are now making hand-over-fist with all the gullible first timers and their parents who seem too eager to prove the worth of their children, an unforeseen crisis seems to have struck them at the same time. This crisis may (hopefully) be the one thing that may give them reason to review their on-campus residency requirements, especially if this upward trend of enrollmen      t continues to occur over the next few years.

What is the residency crisis, you may ask? UA has more incoming students than they have housing for on the campus. This means that one of the following options may need to be considered for the campus itself:

1. Forcing sophamores and upperclassmen to leave the campus housing and find alternate residency on their own. Regardless of whether or not the student(s) can afford it.

2. A review of their residency requirements for all incoming students with 24 credit hours or less. These reviews could result in making the process of residency an option rather than a requirement. (We can only hope that this option happens.)

3. Raise tuition even higher for the sake of purchasing more land to develop for new housing. (This is what most schools decide to do as an investment of land can pay itself off with residents.)

For those of you who were hoping to learn more about TheRealEducator and perhaps chance upon a meeting and discussion, I am sad to say that I will be unable to attend class this fall due to an "unusual enrollment history" issue that I will be clearing up while the rest of you are busy studying. I hope to have the issue cleared up soon so that I may rejoin your ranks in time of the Spring semester where I hope to look at UA from the perspective of the online student. In the meantime, please feel free to message me with anything that you may discover in your educational paths that you feel may make for an interesting commentary here on my blog.

This week at work, I had the privilege of telling someone about my blog here on Tumblr. At first, he expressed concerned over my producing a blog that highlighted the many faults and obstacles of college institutions until I explained that the blog is more about the disconnect that many of those institutions have with the modern student. When he asked for further explanation, I was more than happy to oblige.

"Schools such as the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, are extremely unprepared for non-tradtitional students. These are the students, such as myself, that waited for college because of other obligations. There are no programs in place for students like us unless you are far more mature, such as 40 or over, and adding to your previous degrees, or studying certain things over a long distance. Even then, the so-called 'scholarships' are limited and range from just a couple of hundred dollars to maybe a couple of thousand if you're lucky enough."

The more I explained the purpose behind my blog, the more questions he eagerly asked about all of the things that many of the colleges ask of their students. He mentioned that many children, his included, were unable to attend their dream university due to the cost of residency alone and was surprised to hear that there IS a way to bypass rules such as residency simply by taking a slightly longer route.

What a deal! I pay just $600 a class, get the class, the notebook, and the textbook! No searching for bargains and hoping the book arrives at my doorstep before the first day of class!! Just show up, pay, get my things, and go! But wait.

When it comes to a lot of technical colleges with the all-inclusive class set up, there are some things that you have to realize. Firstly, lets take a look at that "bargain" package deal.

$600 for a class, a $2 notebook, and the textbook.

For just around $180 a class, you could attend Jeff State (which offers many of the same programs and have free parking registration), get to chose your own notebook (such as the one in your closet that is collecting dust because your child's teacher demanded that you buy 100 notebooks for the year when all he needed was 3), and you can find a great deal on the textbook on Ebay, Amazon, or even Craigslist. All together, you just spent around $230 for the class. A class that is accredited and will transfer to any university or junior college anywhere in the U.S., unlike the classes you get and that all-inclusive technical school.

Didn't know that? That's because they like to hide that fact from you just like they try to hide their overall cost of attendance from you. Want another dirty secret of theirs? If you ever fail a class, for whatever reason, not only do you lose that money, but, you have to pay them for their time and energy and you cannot begin a new semester until you pay for your failed class. Ready for the insult to your injury? Now you have to pay for the same class AGAIN. The same $600 for the class, notebook, and textbook bundle. But you already have the book from the last time... the technical school doesn't care. They can't make changes to their prices and bundles just for one student. Didn't want to have to take the class again? Then you should have been God and prevented your child from getting sick last semester in the first place.

Recently, a major central Alabama news agency posted an article on their website that gave light to an approximate $4,000 increase in tuition alone over the past 5 years at both the University of Alabama and Auburn University. According to the Fox affiliate, the cost of tuition increases by 10% every year, causing more and more financial pain on students and their families even though the financial rewards of a better career have improved little in the same amount of time. To read more on this or to watch the interview with a financial advisor from Wells Fargo on the topic, click on the link below.

Recently, a big campaign began here in my home state of Alabama. Every time you turn on the TV or the radio, you hear the commercials loaded with various promises. Some even take advantage of alliances that listeners or watchers have had their entire lives.

What is the subject of the campaign? Is it a politician's campaign? Is it about a law?

The answer: It's a campaign about college.

This recent campaign by many colleges in my state is targeting the very people that I am writing this blog for. They promise the Non-Traditional caste of students an easy path towards the degree of their choice while helping them to do it at a low price. They tell them things like "Its flexible! It's cheap! Do the work on your own time!"

Among this campaign are two local names. One is known only among the more rural areas of central, west,and north west Alabama and hosts 3 small campuses around the central-north west portion of the state and is a low priced community College, Bevill State. The second is a name known around the world. It boasts several blocks of buildings, a wide diversity of Greek organizations, a Tier 1 law school, and 15 national football titles, 2 of which are back-to-back, The University of Alabama located in Tuscaloosa.

In Bevill's commercial, they show 2 Non-Traditional students that both have a need to return to college, both work, and both have a family to support. The first student returns to class physically at the tune of over $4,000 while taking time away from his family to attend the lectures. The second student spends around $1,000 (+/-) and takes her classes online and can work on her material at any time that works best for her.

In UA's radio commercial, they talk to a variety of Non-Traditional students. They all talk about how they have been "the ultimate Alabama fan" their entire lives. They have attended every game, bought every piece of memorabilia, and have even raised their children to be equal fans. However, there has always been that one piece of Alabama that they thought was always out of their hand. No, not the crystal football that the fans seem to revere as a holy object, they're talking about getting a degree from the University of Alabama. Now, with UA's distance education program, they can do just that - get their dream degree from their dream school.

Notice something different between Bevill and UA? UA's commercial doesn't give a price for you to consider. Instead, it appeals to the potential student that already spends all of their spare money on the Capstone. To find out about the cost of education from this school, you'd have to call & ask or learn how to find the information on their website. I'm not sure about you, reader, but when I think of this, I think the advice "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

Every time somebody asks me for advice to help them as they begin college or return to college, I always tell them the same thing. It doesn't matter if you are heading off to a Technical, Community, or 4-yr College, the advice is always the same and it has helped many of the people I have given it to. What is this blanket advice that is so short and sweet to say but saves so many from endless grief?

GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

"Excessive" is never a word to think of when you pull out your pen and notebook or even your cellphone to record the conversation to archive. Many will try to tell you that there is no need to take down their names or keep notes because they will "give you something to take with you." Do not fall for this trick. Many times, when they give you something, it is a generic form or statement that does not have a date, time stamp, name, or email address to prove when and where you received the document, much less who you spoke to. That business card? Take one to attach to your notes and double check the information. Don't just say "Is all of this up-to-date?" Instead, skip reaching or even looking at the cards until the very end of the appointment and you are about to walk out the door. Make them spell out their email address, phone number (including extension), and, of course, their name and office hours.

If, however, you live a long distance from your school or if you're a Non-Traditional student and don't have the time to drop by the college of your choice for information, email is a wonderful tool to use to help you with this. My personal choice for email is Google's free email service, Gmail, because it allows you to archive your emails so you can access them again at any time with no expiration to the archival. Gmail also collects and presents the emails between you and your contact in a format that reads not unlike a messenger in many cases. This makes finding everything you need easier and faster to help you in your quest for school.

Gmail is also available on the Android network as a free app that comes pre-installed on many of the devices purchased today.

When you have all of the information collected from your conversations, amassed your contact info, and made yourself feel like some sort of spy, then you are well armed against any surprises that may come up. Even from the most infamous department for surprises, the Financial Aid department. However, I have learned that as long as you stay on top of your notes, you have little to no road bumps to deal with because the people you spoke with will remember your attention to detail (especially if it was a face-to-face experience). 

Recently, the University of Alabama network approved a jaw dropping tuition hike that is set to be in effect at the beginning of the fall 2013-2014 semester. Like many of the students belonging to the network, I began asking the question of Why. Why would the UA network need a tuition hike? Why are other fees rising such as the parking pass? Why would they do this to students that are already struggling to make their educational goals happen? Why, why, why?

  Then I received the answer. From an anonymous source, I learned that the primary reason behind UA’s hikes is because they have promised their faculty and staff a pay raise for a job well done. To make this happen, however, we, the student, have to pay for it.

  Never mind the fact that the UA network makes millions of dollars a year off of the sales of sports memorabilia across the nation. Never mind that it makes thousands of dollars a game, even with the rising ticket prices in this failing economy. Never mind that The University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, could easily make more money by giving tours of the campus the thousands that flock to its iconic Denny Chimes like pilgrims to Jerusalam or Mecca. Never mind that they could raise the price of their on-campus merchandise (like notebooks, t-shirts, etc) because most of the things that they have for sell at the Supe Store is limited edition and available only in that shop. Nevermind that they can simply raise the prices of the snacks in the vending machines that dot the campus or just raise the prices of the food a little at every eatery on campus. What do they care, anyway? Their getting their minimum every semester from the student and FAFSA anyway. Maybe they can even give a little higher charge for adding money to the dining plan, Action Card.

  The point is, I can easily think of a dozen alternatives to charging the student so blatently for the raise promised the staff of the school network. I am also sure that, should the UA network take the time to talk to their students, both traditional and non, they would learn areas where they could easily raise the money that they need without causing further financial pain to students and their families. Even if they don’t want to pull funds from their glorified sports programs, which make money hand-over-fist every day, the students can help them find a way. Here’s a good way just off the top of my head: don’t promise something you cannot already deliver. If the funding for a raise or bonus is not already in your general fund, or in the fund for such things, then don’t promise one!

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