Academic Laundering/Fraud (I should start my own Journal...)

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

7 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Building a climbing wall has jack shit to do with why people can’t afford tuition. 

Do you know why students can’t afford tuition or will you keep blaming walls and new buildings (which isn’t why)?

Setting aside tuition momentarily; I would say that for students from low SES a greater barrier might be the non-tuition costs such as living expenses, etc.

[Neonmoon 38129]

26 minutes ago, Pancho said:

 

Every single student CAN’T get a loan. You do know that right? 

I do know that.

Do you know it's not exactly difficult to meet the criteria below?

https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/eligibility/requirements#ability-to-benefit

 

[Incredulity 11674]

1 hour ago, RDCanecutter said:

This clip is not some critique of academia by practical businessmen. This is a bit of play-acting created by all sorts of people. English major script writers. Drama school actors who had to audition against hordes of competitors but who are wired not to care. Careful competent technical crew. Financing and distribution by business types, promotion by art and marketing people. Rodney himself is doing a bit, he's imitating an imaginary self-made man of business, when he actually accomplished something far harder-- making a living as a comedian. The clip is a variation of the pie in the face of the snobby character. We like Rodney for that. 

The MG abuse (is that a real MG?) is inexcusable.

something something...satire.   Something, something...truth in art.

[Beau Vine 54230]

On 2/8/2024 at 1:00 PM, Neonmoon said:

So you're basically just saying

That's fair. 

No, you were also clearly wrong.

[Beau Vine 54230]

On 2/8/2024 at 1:10 PM, RDCanecutter said:

We still talking about fraud any? In my International Career of Mystery I've seen a variety.

-- regular-ass wormy scared student cheating, from traditional to online

-- a drunken professor who confessed that he'd done his Doctoral thesis by copying one he'd found in East Germany

-- Lying-ass research scientists who faked the data

-- One colleague who supposedly was supposed to give a talk in the Czech Republic, I am convinced she pocketed the plane fare and stayed home

 

I once did this, but it was San Antonio instead of the Czech Republic.

[Samson's Wig 3192]

On 2/8/2024 at 6:35 AM, TwiceHorn said:

Question.  Student loans have been around for much longer than they have been a problem.

Was there a somewhat recent loosening of lending standards?  

Because the other problem, probably the bigger one, is the withdrawal of support of state universities by states and the deregulation of tuition that occurred in most places in the early aughts.  And that let tuition spiral upward across the board, to be met with loan money.

 

I can't recall if this has been mentioned yet, but around the same time was the revision to the bankruptcy code that, among other things, made it nearly impossible to discharge student loans.   That alone accounts for the largest part of the shitfest, in my opinion.   Student loans became some of the most attractive lending available overnight.  Can you imagine the smiles on the faces of lenders knowing that no one can run away from their loans?  The feds literally unleashed a bunch of sharks on poor and middle-class families, and teenagers in particular.  

Edited February 26 by Samson's Wig

[RDCanecutter 26443]

22 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

I once did this, but it was San Antonio instead of the Czech Republic.

Yeah, in her case, something weird happened. I suspect it was mundane like not bothering to get a passport in time.

She came back from the Czech Republic, no pics to show, no funny stories about anything new. I asked her what she saw. Oh she stayed in the hotel the whole time. Well what was the food like? It was food. What kind of money do they use there, Euros, what? Well. it was basically just money.

I'm like, she didn't watch Rocky.

I liked her and didn't want to put her on the hot seat, so I just let it drop. There was lots of weird shit at that place. But when they gave me a mini-grant to try to set up study abroad swaps in Mexico, my Chair asked to see photos. I took about 700.

[gurt 748]

What changed in 2003 that cut gov't funding?  I haven't heard about that, looking to read up on it

[TwiceHorn 31472]

19 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

I can't recall if this has been mentioned yet, but around the same time was the revision to the bankruptcy code that, among other things, made it nearly impossible to discharge student loans.   That alone accounts for the largest part of the shitfest, in my opinion.   Student loans became some of the most attractive lending available overnight.  Can you imagine the smiles on the faces of lenders knowing that no one can run away from their loans?  The feds literally unleashed a bunch of sharks on poor and middle-class families, and teenagers in particular.  

Should have caught that, yes, 2005,right about the time of tuition deregulation. 

BAPCPA amended § 523(a)(8) to broaden the types of educational ("student") loans that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy absent proof of "undue hardship." The nature of the lender is no longer relevant. Thus, even loans from "for-profit" or "non-governmental" entities are not dischargeable.

 

[TwiceHorn 31472]

19 minutes ago, gurt said:

What changed in 2003 that cut gov't funding?  I haven't heard about that, looking to read up on it

Mostly deregulation, which appears to have preceded lower spending. https://alcalde.texasexes.org/2019/01/looking-at-higher-education-funding-in-texas-and-how-we-got-here/

[gurt 748]

53 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Mostly deregulation, which appears to have preceded lower spending. https://alcalde.texasexes.org/2019/01/looking-at-higher-education-funding-in-texas-and-how-we-got-here/

is it fair to say that this same thing happened everywhere in the country as an explanation to why costs have gone up nationwide?

[TwiceHorn 31472]

27 minutes ago, gurt said:

is it fair to say that this same thing happened everywhere in the country as an explanation to why costs have gone up nationwide?

I think so but can't cite a source. A quick search only refers to Texas, though. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

15 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

I think so but can't cite a source. A quick search only refers to Texas, though. 

"What starts here fucks it up for everyone."

[Beau Vine 54230]

4 hours ago, gurt said:

What changed in 2003 that cut gov't funding?  I haven't heard about that, looking to read up on it

In Texas, universities literally used to have to get legislative approval (not from just some committee, the whole legislature voted)  to raise tuition, which absolutely no one liked. 

When the lege voted to allow schools to set their own tuition, they traded that for lower funding.  

[YGIFS 19450]

Yeah, Bill Powers foretold this being an issue when 'Local Control' was the hot issue about 15 years ago.  RIP

[gurt 748]

46 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

In Texas, universities literally used to have to get legislative approval (not from just some committee, the whole legislature voted)  to raise tuition, which absolutely no one liked. 

When the lege voted to allow schools to set their own tuition, they traded that for lower funding.  

Yeah, I remember my dad saying everyone was protesting back in the 70s when it went from 4 to 12 dollars a credit hour.  

Where did the school administrations fall on this issue?  Were they in favor of setting their own rates?

[Beau Vine 54230]

4 minutes ago, gurt said:

Where did the school administrations fall on this issue?  Were they in favor of setting their own rates?

Overwhelmingly.  Everyone thought this was a great idea.  Turned out to only be great if you had already bought into the Texas Tomorrow Fund.

[DaysOff 7951]

Yeah, I remember my dad saying everyone was protesting back in the 70s when it went from 4 to 12 dollars a credit hour.  
Where did the school administrations fall on this issue?  Were they in favor of setting their own rates?

That 4 to 12 raise was in 1986.