Zackary Park

The Pending Dilemma of the University

The university as we know today is in crisis. The crisis is comprised of not one but a
multitude of problems. In The Universitys Crisis of Purpose, Professor Faust believes that the
problems include the following: meeting impractical demands, responding to decreasing
government support, and demonstrating the necessity of a higher education in the liberal arts.
Once the university overcomes these obstacles, it will be known once again as the cornerstone of
the American Dream.
The demands that must be met by the university are contradictory with one another. A
university cannot both assist immediate national needs and to pursue knowledge for its own
sake or be practical as well as transcendent. These ultimatums divide the university as a
whole. It destroys the notion of unity and having a central purpose to accomplish. Rather than
putting forth the best effort to undertake a single demand, the university puts forth effort that is
subpar to achieve goals that are polar opposites with one another, hindering the productivity and
efficiency of the university. For example, if a student had three biology exams and another
student had a math, history, and physics exam, the student who had the three exams in the same
concentration would most likely do better the other student because the exams are related to one
another. If the university was given demands that result in unification, a greater advance could be
made in that field. Due to decreasing government support, the university may be able to focus on
problems relevant to it. However, decreasing government support also coincides with the
increasing cost of attendance.
Coming from a middle-class financial background, I understand the hardships associated
with the increasing tuition rates. The university does have a program in place for those who are
less fortunate, and without the aid of the program, these students would never be able to

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experience a higher education. However, these students are in the low- to low middle-class
financial groups. The university sets a strict threshold that clearly marks where the division of
exceptional aid and almost no aid resides. The income of my family lies just above that
threshold. Therefore, we do not receive any of the benefits of those who just below the threshold
because of where the arbitrary line lies. This imaginary line determines the amount of financial
stress and hardships that my family faces. Many of my friends are in a similar situation.
Although my parents were able to take out many loans and I will graduate in debt, when I leave
college, I will have a degree. Some of my friends have dropped out or taken semesters off
because they were no longer able to pay for college, regardless of the amount of aid provided by
the university. Just last year, Boston College raised its tuition by 1.8-3.8%. The salaries of my
parents are not increasing at the same rate of the cost of tuition. Higher education is a necessity
for a better life and for the prosperity of the human race, but most people, including myself,
cannot afford the university.
American citizens are conscious of the importance of the university. 93 percent of
respondents considered our universities one of the countrys most valuable resources. They
know that American educational institutions are among the best in the world. They understand
that a college degree results in higher earnings and a happier life overall. However, most people
cannot go to college because they cannot afford it. Parents save up year after year and take out
many loans. Therefore, the students who do go to college are aware of the sacrifices made by
their parents, and making money is their primary focus. They do not care about the liberal arts;
they are solely concentrated on relieving themselves of debt and obtaining high earnings. That is
the purpose in college, which is the reason so many students major in business and not in liberal
arts or the sciences. Although concentrating in theology or philosophy would grant the utmost

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understanding of the world, it will not generate the highest earnings. Thus, higher education
isabout the results in the next quarter and not about discoveries that may take and last
decades.
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. As the cost of attendance remains on the rise,
only the rich will be able to attend the university. Because the median earnings for individuals
with a B.A. are 74 percent higher than for workers who possess only a high school diploma, the
students who come from wealthy families will continue to remain rich and get richer as less
people are able to attend. This will inevitably create a larger divide between the rich and the
poor. This financial problem must be resolved if a competitive American work force and
advancing our collective prosperity is to exist.

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Works Cited
Faust, Drew Gilpin. "The University's Crisis of Purpose." The New York Times 6 Sept. 2009: n.
pag. Print.