Worksheet 10

A. For my editorial piece I'm planning an argument for increased financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships and workstudies as opposed to loans. In my preliminary research I am finding many schools across the U.S. that are transitioning away from loans and toward grants and scholarships. Oakland University seems to be behind on this.
B. The arguments seem to be about ownership of the expenses of education, whether private or public.
C. Readers are very opinionated about private vs public funding of may things; I'm sure education is no different. Many are opposed to tax dollars going toward anything besides defense. I believe most people argue emotionally on this topic rather than logically.
D. Three of several sources of information are:

The misinformation about financial aid: inaccurate perceptions about the cost of college often stand in the way of economically disadvantaged students pursuing a college degree.

by Horwedel, Dina M
This article is similar to the examples we viewed in class in that it discusses the cost/benefit concerns of potential students. This article focuses on the Hispanic population of California, but the fundamentals are universal. In a nutshell, it says one of the biggest problems facing high school students trying to decide whether or not to attend college is misinformation.

House Republicans Challenge New England Senators on Shaping Aid Policy.

from " The Chronicle of Higher Education. 48.23 (Feb 15, 2002)
This article may be a little too old to use, but the attitudes haven't changed, so I still think it's relevant. In it, the author discusses how in the good old days, Republicans and Democrats put aside partisan bickering to ensure college educations were funded. Today, however they can't agree on why college costs so much and why it should be a federal problem, not a state or local one.

Harvard takes lead in easing college costs.

from " Newsday (Melville, NY). (Dec 11, 2007)
This is one of several article I have found on universities attempting to ease the burden on students by offering more grants and scholarships. There are several, all saying basically the same thing. What I need to find out now is why and how they are and why OU isn't or can't.