What 10k Will Buy You These Days

On June 29, 2012, Kim Quaile Hill’s article was published in The Austin American Statesman on Governor Rick Perry’s goal to keep the costs of college degrees low. Hill supports Perry’s decision to have degree options for under $10,000. This includes books, tuition and other small fees.  She states it to be a “noble ambition.”  According to the article, there are only a limited number of public Texas universities that offer a few degrees at that price. This presents a small amount of choices for those only wanting to pay $10,000. Hill states that if a university is planning on creating degrees at such a price, they will need to “ditch most of their research missions, their nationally and internationally reputed faculty, their nationally ranked academic programs, and their graduate and professional programs.” Macon State is one university that has already done this. If you compare one of their $10,000 degrees to that of a higher costing degree program, the value of Macon’s does not hold much value. Hill’s main point is that “you get what you pay for.” I agree with all of the author’s points in this article.  I think this article was written with current or future college students in mind, but honestly, it applies to more than just college degrees. If you want quality, sometimes you have to be willing to pay more for it.  Hill’s credibility comes from serving as an Eppright Professor of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence and as a Cullen-McFadden Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University.