At 10:18 PM 7/21/01 +0200 Sonja van Baardwijk-Holten wrote:
>And who guarantees that students aren't just taken for their cash and end up
>with a lousy education? In other words who guarantees the level of
education a
>student gets at such a newly founded private institution? I find a private
>university, without *any* form of government interference, a rather scary
>thought. Especially in health sciences.
Children below a certain age (varies by State) are required to go to a
government-certified school. The government certifies public, private,
and home-schools.
For higher education there are both public and private colleges and
universities. The public ones are not "free", but require some sort of
contribution from the student to make up the per-student cost that is not
covered by the State Govt. running the school. Private universities very
often have a great deal of financial resources, and some of them (like
CWRU, my alma mater) offer very generous scholarships based on need,
academic merit, or athletic merit.
There is a quasi-governmental institution that certifies all places of
higher education, and publicizes the certified locations. There are
non-certified institutions, but their degrees are virtually worthless.
AFAIK, the certification process is not covered by any law (but someone can
correct me on this.) At any rate, the governments definitely are not
involved in setting the requirements for certification.
The personal contribution can be composed of personal funds, gifts, private
scholarships, public scholarships, public grants, private loans, and public
loans. Public loans are guaranteed by our Federal Govt., and are
sometimes offerred at a reduced interest rate. All public loans do not
accrue interest while one is in school. The public loans are so widely
available that it is impossible to argue that higher education is denied to
anyone who really wants it. We just expect you to demonstrate that you
really want it by working to pay back the loan.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
We are products of the same history, reaching from Jerusalem and
Athens to Warsaw and Washington. We share more than an alliance.
We share a civilization. - George W. Bush, Warsaw, 06/15/01
