8 Reasons College Has Become a Key Political Issue

With the 2012 elections just a few months away, candidates are amping up their campaigns, and political discourse in the country is reaching a fever pitch. While the economy is playing a central role in many political debates, college education has become a surprising talking point as well, with a few candidates making some pretty controversial and largely critical statements about college education in America.

With so much going on in the world, why has college become the focus of so much attention in recent months? Simply put, there is no single answer to that question. It’s likely a combination of a number of different and complex factors, some of which we’ll try to explain here. As a student, you should pay special attention to the debate, as the ideas of these candidates could directly affect your life, future, and well-being if put into practice, so read on to start learning more about why higher education is such a key political issue on both sides of the aisle in this year’s election.

1. College tuition is astronomically high.

   College tuition has risen at a rate that is 5.6% above the rate of general inflation for public schools and 2.6% for private schools. That might not mean much to those in the upper income brackets, but for the average middle-class family those numbers might put college out of reach. Making things even harder are proposed plans to cut back on government loans or raise interest rates on existing loans. Unprecedented college costs are one of the biggest issues driving college education to the forefront of the political debate, with both Democrats and Republicans speaking out publicly on the issue. Mitt Romney has notably said that he doesn’t think the government should offer loans to students at all, a view echoed by many other Republican candidates. Yet these might be words Romney has to eat; traditionally voters of both parties have staunchly supported increased student aid.

2. American colleges aren’t producing workers for the most in-demand sectors.

   You’d have to be pretty out of the loop not to have heard the innumerable news reports and articles bemoaning the lack of science and technology grads in America. STEM employers nationwide haven’t been able to fill jobs, despite high rates of unemployment overall, because there simply aren’t enough qualified candidates out there. This disparity has caused many to speak out, though some without considering the ramifications of what they are saying, like Florida governor Rick Scott. Scott claimed that students with degrees in fields like anthropology simply weren’t needed in Florida (despite many areas of anthropology being firmly rooted in science). Boneheaded commentary aside, the lack of STEM grads is a real concern to many political candidates who want to provide greater funding for programs that promote these areas of study, as they fear America could quickly fall behind in an increasingly global marketplace.

3. Student debt affects the economy as a whole.

   As Bill Clinton’s campaign put it so succinctly in 1992, “It’s the economy, stupid.” The average college student in 2012 will graduate with more than $25,000 worth of debt. That’s a hefty sum and one that could take decades to pay back, especially in a poor job market that puts inexperienced grads at a disadvantage in looking for work. While the debt most strongly affects college grads themselves, it has some far-reaching effects for the economy as a whole that can’t be dismissed. Grads with more debt may spend less, they may live at home, put off marriage or buying a home, and may even take help from their parents who put off retirement. In an economy that’s already struggling, these aren’t good things, and it’s no surprise that candidates are focusing increased attention on higher ed.

4. They’re looking to appeal to a certain demographic.

   Rick Santorum certainly couldn’t hope to woo college-educated, middle-class voters with his statement, “President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob.” Indeed, he was speaking to a crowd of mostly blue-collar workers in Flint, Mich., who applauded this and other statements highly critical of college education. On the flip side, President Obama and democrats in the House and Senate have been making concerted efforts to appeal to the interests of students, fighting plans to cut back on funding and pushing for expanding community college offerings nationwide. These moves aren’t accidental, and a big part of many of the statements being made about higher education in the political arena today are part of a larger platform or campaign strategy that has been crafted to capture certain, often very specific demographics.

5. The college educated make up a significant portion of voters.

   While the college educated only make up 27.9% of the population, they accounted for 45% of the votes in the 2008 presidential elections. College-educated voters are much more likely to register and head to the polls than those who are less well educated. While the college educated have a long tradition of supporting Republican candidates in elections, it seems that in recent years that the tides have shifted. In 1984, college grads overwhelmingly voted for Reagan (62.7% to 36.9%), but in this year’s election, polls show Obama handily beating Romney in support (51% to 42%). In today’s political world, no candidate can afford to ignore the college-graduate pool of voters, and that may be a part of the reason why higher education has been such a major issue in recent months as each party vies for a piece of that vote.

6. Candidates see college as being tied to political leanings.

   Rick Santorum has said that he thinks Obama only wants all Americans to go to college so that they can be remade in his image, with the implication that colleges indoctrinate all students with liberal propaganda. While obviously not all college grads emerge from their education as liberals, college education is tied in many ways to tending toward belonging to one political party or the other. Several major studies have found that those who have a bachelor’s degree are more likely to take a liberal viewpoint than those whose education ended in high school. This may be the reason that so many Republican candidates feel the need to push back against colleges and college grads, many of whom they know will vote Democratic in the coming elections. Yet Santorum doesn’t get off that easy, as there is little evidence to suggest that this shift is the result of any widespread practice of indoctrinating students.

7. Jobs are scarce.

   It’s no secret that the economy in the U.S. (and around the world) is floundering. Jobs have become very hard to find and the downturn in the economy has hit college graduates especially hard. Many can’t find jobs in their fields, or jobs at all, and the majority are carrying tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt. This may have been part of what spurred Santorum to make his controversial comments, believing that not everyone needs to go to college. There is some truth in this, to be sure, as skilled professionals are needed to fill jobs in a variety of other very important fields as well. Yet, while college may not be for everyone (and may be a very poor investment for those whose interests lie elsewhere) it still affords many a better chance of finding a job, as the current unemployment rate for those with only a high school diploma is a whopping 22.9%. Even the worst performing college majors only have unemployment rates of 13.9%, a fact that many ignore in light of promoting alternate, often politically motivated strategies for economic recovery. The unemployment rate has been a major issue during Obama’s entire presidency, and Americans can expect to continue to hear more about it as November approaches, often tied in with critiques of higher education and college tuition.

8. Education is always a hot-button political topic.

   While college may have been the focus of much of the education-related discussion in recent months, education as a whole is always a central and hotly debated political issue, perhaps because it strikes so close to home for so many Americans. There are countless examples that demonstrate this, if you stop to think about it. Just a few months back, there was a huge outcry over Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s plans to strip teachers’ unions of their bargaining rights. Nationwide, many schools are still struggling with the legacy of the No Child Left Behind program. Major battles in the House and Senate in the past few months have been over school funding issues. Cutbacks over the past decade at colleges all over America have caused many students and faculty to protest. While current economic and social factors have exacerbated problems with higher education, the reality is that education, even at the college level, is a deeply rooted political topic, and one that none of us should be surprised to see at the forefront of national debate. It’s also one that we can expect will continue to come up, time and time again, in the months leading up to the election.

Taken From Online Colleges