2008 Woodie Awards
Should we pay for "W's"? YES
Paying for classes provides the college with income.
By: Aaron Dobruck
Issue date: 5/12/05 Section: Insight
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Community colleges run on money and there is no way around it.
That is why students must pay for their classes, whether they complete the course or not.
It would be wonderful if education was free and colleges never had to worry about collecting money, but money is necessary to keep lights on, to upgrade computers and to pay other necessary expenses like employee wages.
Even though some may think that it should, the electric company is not likely to provide power service for free. The same could be said for instructors, no matter how dedicated they are, even the best professors will not teach for free, whether they want to or not-they have bills to pay just like everyone else.
Our modern world revolves around a system of money, and without money, very little can happen.
Because of this system, EC must make sure that it collects fees on any and all class sections that a student has enrolled in, even if that student withdraws in the middle of the semester.
If it does not, the college begins to lose money. If the college loses money, classes get cut, lab hours are shortened or suspended and staffing is reduced--which is already happening now because of state budget cuts.
To combat this situation from getting worse, EC requires that students pay for their classes before they can drop and receive a "W". As further incentive to get students to pay up, dropped classes have an "F" on record.
Without this incentive, it is doubtful that any dropped courses would be paid for because people do not easily part with money unless there is some large personal consequence, like that potentially devastating F on their transcript.
Classes, even when only completed in part, are a service rendered and need to be paid for. When they are not paid for it is theft.
At restaurants, people must pay for their entire plate of food regardless of how much of it they actually eat. The restaurant cannot take back left over food and give it to someone else.
That is why students must pay for their classes, whether they complete the course or not.
It would be wonderful if education was free and colleges never had to worry about collecting money, but money is necessary to keep lights on, to upgrade computers and to pay other necessary expenses like employee wages.
Even though some may think that it should, the electric company is not likely to provide power service for free. The same could be said for instructors, no matter how dedicated they are, even the best professors will not teach for free, whether they want to or not-they have bills to pay just like everyone else.
Our modern world revolves around a system of money, and without money, very little can happen.
Because of this system, EC must make sure that it collects fees on any and all class sections that a student has enrolled in, even if that student withdraws in the middle of the semester.
If it does not, the college begins to lose money. If the college loses money, classes get cut, lab hours are shortened or suspended and staffing is reduced--which is already happening now because of state budget cuts.
To combat this situation from getting worse, EC requires that students pay for their classes before they can drop and receive a "W". As further incentive to get students to pay up, dropped classes have an "F" on record.
Without this incentive, it is doubtful that any dropped courses would be paid for because people do not easily part with money unless there is some large personal consequence, like that potentially devastating F on their transcript.
Classes, even when only completed in part, are a service rendered and need to be paid for. When they are not paid for it is theft.
At restaurants, people must pay for their entire plate of food regardless of how much of it they actually eat. The restaurant cannot take back left over food and give it to someone else.