Thanks to The Denver Post

Major, major changes are coming to  the University of Denver’s Penrose Library…they’re getting rid of the books!

Wait…is it really that shocking?

Like most libraries, Penrose has been increasing the digital content offered in the catalog. Today, the library’s customers have access to 1.7 million digital links — 686,442 of which lead to electronic books that can be checked out to computers or readers, such as the iPad, Kindle or Nook.”

To contend with the digital revolution UD plans to transform the library into what they call the “Academic Commons.” The renovation, which is scheduled to be finished in December of 2012, will include expanded seating, support for multimedia software, an increased amount of outlets, among other things.

While some have been upset at the decision, the university has defended its plans.

We are not alone in this trend of increasing central campus space for study, services and student learning and decreasing central campus space for legacy collections.”

Will this become a model for other universities?

This isn’t the first post we’ve done on the downfall of books. Take a look at “Bye Bye Bookstores?“

Thanks to Wikicommons

We all know College is expensive for students…

But spending on campuses may be even more painful for the state governments that fund public universities.

For this reason, global tuitions have been on the rise during this recession.

Students in the United Kingdom have shown the most outrage to these hikes, but American scholars are also feeling the pinch.

Despite the out-cry of students (who are seeing more than their pizza funds at risk) rises in tuition may be the right thing to do.

At least this is what Nobel laureate Gary Becker and author Richard Posner argue:

Charging low tuition to everyone, as public colleges do for residents of the state in which the college or university is located), does not make economic sense; it merely as I said provides windfalls to families willing and able to pay the full tuition. …

This situation presents a case for a virtuous tax increase (raising a fee for a public service is the equivalent of a tax): the increase helps to close the state’s fiscal gap; the burden of the increased tax is borne entirely by the well-to-do; and some of the higher revenue can be used to subsidize students unable to afford the higher tuition.

In other words, the wealthy will go to college whether it is cheap or not, and as most of those in college are better off than the average American why not use tuition as a “tax”.

Posner and Becker note that one section of academia does follow this system as private universities

charge very high tuition (though not high enough to cover all their costs—but they have other sources of funds, such as alumni donations), but grant scholarships or loans to students whose families can’t afford the tuition.

Over at Economix, David Leonhardt agrees but warns that it is important to remember that

there is typically no guarantee that financial aid will keep pace with tuition. If public colleges raise tuition, they will probably have a hard time increasing financial aid to keep pace, given the current troubles with state finances.

So what is to be done? Take our Poll below:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

]]> http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2011/01/26/college-tuition-should-be-raised/feed/ 4 http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2009/12/03/a-view-from-abroad-whos-up-for-a-drink/ http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2009/12/03/a-view-from-abroad-whos-up-for-a-drink/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:33:09 +0000 ForeverPlaid http://www.usdemocrazy.net/?p=4279

The world's strongest beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin

This is one in a series of dispatches from our Foreign Correspondent currently on location in Scotland:

On exchange in Scotland, one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed between the UK and America is the drinking culture. (and we’re not talking about tea here…)

In the United Kingdom, the legal age of drinking alcohol is 18, three whole years before young people in the States.

Surprising to most Yanks, school social outings in the UK (and even academic ones) largely revolve around the local pub. Student societies are likely to organize their own pub crawls and professors are known to take students out for a drink and conversation. Because virtually anyone at the university is of legal drinking age, this is no problem.

That said, it’s also well-known that Scotland has a problem with alcohol. There is legislation in front of the Scottish parliament currently that aims to remedy this problem, dealing with alcohol prices and even (shock!) the drinking age.

While in the States there is a decent amount of discussion of lowering the drinking age to make alcohol consumption more regulated for younger people, the Student newspaper points out that the Scottish Government is considering raising the drinking age in certain circumstances.

Under consideration is raising to 21 the age for purchasing alcohol in off-licence shops (these are like liquor stores where the alcohol purchased would be consumed off the property). This is quite unpopular with students and legislators alike.

The ‘Alcohol Bill’, as it’s called, also proposed a minimum price for alcohol. The sponsor of the bill, the Scottish National Party (SNP), sees the bill as a way to combat the drinking problem:

But simply acknowledging we have a problem is not enough. Now is the time for action… No-one can seriously argue that selling strong drink for pocket money prices isn’t fuelling heavy consumption.

The second-largest party in the Scottish parliament, the Scottish Labour party, has said it won’t support the Alcohol Bill, which would effectively defeat the bill and its measures. Yet one expert believes there is a distinct link between low prices and alcohol consumption who is asking the members of the Scottish parliament to reconsider their opinions:

There is now compelling scientific evidence that clearly shows the strong link between alcohol consumption, pricing and harm.

While MSPs are deciding on legislation that has potential for influencing the drinking culture in Scotland, one Scottish brewery has decided to start marketing the world’s most alcoholic beer. Timely, eh?