Re: book sharing

["Michael N. Monce" <mnmon@CONNCOLL.EDU>]

On Tue, 4 May 2004, Pamela L. Gay wrote:

> This subject is particularly close to me because I have watched several
> people leave college (in most cases permanently) because they had to
> select between bills or tuition. It's painful to watch, and
> heartbreaking for them to live through and to live with.


    As a faculty member at a school in the stratosphere of tuitions, and
having received all my education from relatively low cost state
universities, I have to say that I really do not see much correlation between
tuition and quality of education.  I also have seen some students of ours
depart due to financial considerations.  My question is why they considered
such a school to begin with? There are many options available to students and
their families, especially with regard to state universities with tuition
on the order of 25% of that for the high price schools.  I sometimes think
students and their families do not approach college with realistic
expectations.  College is expensive. But, if the situation is such that
the cost of a textbook makes or breaks a financial situation, then maybe
the student's school is a bad match with the student's financial
situation.


                               Mike Monce
                               Connecticut College