<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div>And in the US student debt (from tuition) is greater than credit card debt. That's not an accident. It keeps students quiet. As Obama explained in Audacity of Hope, he wants no return of The Sixties</div><div><br></div><div>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>On Oct 5, 2014, at 9:11 AM, David Johnson via OccupyCU <<a href="mailto:occupycu@lists.chambana.net">occupycu@lists.chambana.net</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
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<h1><big><big>This Country Just Abolished College Tuition Fees</big></big></h1>
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<div class="cat-date-line"><big><big><span class="cat-date-line2"><a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/category/educate/" title="View
all posts in Educate!" rel="category tag">Educate!</a></span>
<span class="cat-date-line3"> <a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/debt/" rel="tag">Debt</a>, <a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/education/" rel="tag">Education</a>, <a href="http://www.popularresistance.org/tag/germany/" rel="tag">Germany</a> </span> <br>
<span class="cat-date-line4">By Joaquim Moreira Salles, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/10/01/3574551/germany-free-college-tuition/" target="_blank">www.thinkprogress.com</a><br>
October 4th, 2014</span><br>
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<p class="photo-credit"><big><big><em>German Chancellor Angela
Merkel with college students CREDIT: AP</em> <em>Photo/Michael
Probst</em></big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>Prospective students in the United States who can’t
afford to pay for college or don’t want to rack up tens of
thousands in student debt should try their luck in Germany.
Higher education is now free throughout the country, even
for international students. Yesterday, Lower Saxony became
the last of seven German states to <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/22027/1/germany-scraps-tuition-fees-for-all-universities">abolish
tuition fees</a>, which were already extremely low
compared to those paid in the United States.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>German universities only began charging for tuition
in 2006, when the German Constitutional Court ruled that
limited fees, combined with loans, were not in conflict the
country’s commitment to universal education. The measure
proved unpopular, however, and German states that had
instituted fees began dropping them one by one.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>“We got rid of tuition fees because we do not want
higher education which depends on the wealth of the
parents,” Gabrielle Heinen-Kjajic, the minister for science
and culture in Lower Saxony, said in a statement. Her words
were echoed by many in the German government. “Tuition fees
are unjust,” said Hamburg’s senator for science Dorothee
Stapelfeldt. “They discourage young people who do not have a
traditional academic family background from taking up study.
It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and
men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in
Germany.”</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>Compared to American students, Germans barely had to
pay for undergraduate study even before tuition fees were
abolished. Semester fees averaged <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/18898286">around €500</a>
($630) and students were entitled to many <a href="http://www.studentuniverse.com/student-blog/study-abroad/benefits-student-germany">perks</a>,
such as cheap (often free) transportation within and between
cities.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>Free education is a concept that is embraced in most
of Europe with notable exceptions like the U.K., where the
government voted to lift the cap on university fees in 2010.
The measure has reportedly cost more money than it brought
in. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/21/student-fees-policy-costing-more">The
Guardian</a> reported in March that students are failing
to pay back student loans at such a rate that “the
government will lose more money than it would have saved
from keeping the old £3,000 ($4,865) tuition fee system.”</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>UK students often compare their plight to their
American counterparts, but most Americans would be fortunate
to pay as little as the British do: a maximum of <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/uk-tuition-fees-how-much-does-it-cost-study-uk">$14,550
per year</a>. High tuition fees in the U.S. have caused
student loan debt, which stands at $1.2 trillion, to spiral
out of control. It is now the second-highest form of
consumer debt in the country. According to the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/specialfeatures/2013/08/07/how-the-college-debt-is-crippling-students-parents-and-the-economy/">Institute
for College Access and Success</a>, two thirds of American
college students will leave their alma mater in significant
debt (averaging at $26,600).</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>While there are many government measures that could
ease the massive burden of student debt, some
straightforward steps could make higher education accessible
to all. <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/04/16/3427593/tennessee-free-college-tuition/">Tennessee</a>,
for example, recently voted to make two-year colleges free
for all high school graduates. The U.S. as whole could take
a note from Germany and make public universities free <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/heres-exactly-how-much-the-government-would-have-to-spend-to-make-public-college-tuition-free/282803/">with
relative ease</a>. The government spends around $69
billion subsidizing college education and another $107.4
billion on student loans. Tuition at all public universities
comes to much less than that, around $62.6 billion in 2012.
By restructuring the education budget, the cost of attending
public universities could easily be brought down to zero.
This would also put pressure on private universities to
lower their cost in order to be more competitive.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>At least for now, however, learning German might be
the best financial choice an American high school student
can make.</big></big></p>
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</div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>OccupyCU mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:OccupyCU@lists.chambana.net">OccupyCU@lists.chambana.net</a></span><br><span><a href="https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/occupycu">https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/occupycu</a></span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>