Performance Based Budgeting

We recently read a chapter on College Budgeting  and the different types that Institutions use  through out the country. Of the different types was incremental budgeting, formula budgeting, program budgeting, zero based budgeting, performance budgeting and incentive budgeting. Of all the budgets, the one that stood out to me most was "Performance Based Budgeting".  Performance Budgeting stood out to me the most, because I instantly wondered to what lengths some people or departments would go to to see to it that they receive  that maximum budget possible for the following school year.  Do all schools have the proper policies in place to see to it that numbers aren't inflated?

If an investigation shows that a department knowingly reported false numbers is that department then required to pay back a portion of their new budget. With budgets as tight as they are and school departments fighting yearly to stay a float its not a far fetched idea to think that an inflation of numbers has to be a problem at some universities. I would like to think that all departments run an 100 percent morally and ethical department, but the fact remains that money cant make people do some crazy things, even if the money isn't gong directly into their pocket....

How much would somebody have to pay you to skip your first 2 years of college??

Pay Pal co founder Peter Thiel has started a foundation that will grant 20 people who are under 20 yrs old 100k per year for 2 years so that they will not attend college but instead work on their new innovative scientific ideas.  According to Mr Thiel,  "There is absolutely no experience that matches the real world, so if you have the passion and the drive to work on a great idea then you should do it". At first glance it seems like Mr Thiel is paying kids not to go to school but after reading, hes giving 20 kids the ability and chance to work on something that they truly believe in. Now of course he will benefit from it if their idea actually becomes successful but lets be real, out of 20 innovators, one maybe 2 will actually blossom into something special. For the other 18 people they are walking away from a great experience 200k richer and a wealth of knowledge from working with a fortune 100 company.

I too believe that there is no experience like real world experience. When given the opportunity to do such a thing, it has to be taken into consideration especially when a 6 figure salary is involved. Yes those students are 2 years behind, but if that had enough passions and drive to take @ years off to chase a dream, surely they can figure out how to make up for the 2 years they lost by not going to school and still graduate on time our only a semester late...

Is School too Expensive

According to an article written by Goldie Blumenstyk  in 2009 junior colleges were the hardest hit by the rescission in 2009.  Now with out knowing the exact numbers of how many college students are attending junior colleges vs the amount of students that attend 4 year universities its safe to say that the amount attending junior colleges far exceeds those attending 4 ear institutions. Students attend junior college for several different reasons such as using junior college to boost their gpa, or maybe they just didn't have the grades coming out of high school and they need 2 years of junior college to be admitted in to a university, but  in my opinion the main reason is usually money. It cost thousands of dollars less each semester to attend junior college versus attending a university your first 2 years. School admission fees have gotten gotten to the point where young people who are thinking about attending college are often times hesitant because of the price. Instead they chose to try and work for a couple years and "save money" for school. We all know that more times than not once a person goes into the work field with out going to school it is very hard to go back.

In my opinion a Bachelors Degree doesn't hold the same value that in did 20 years ago, its to the point now that most people have or are working toward their degrees. Now its takes a masters degree or a PHD to separate you from the rest. As a country we preach the importance of education, but it seems that some institutions make it very hard for people to afford the opportunity without going thousands of dollars into debt.  Can anything be done?? Well its 2011 and I am guessing by the time I have kids ant they are off to college tuition fees will be double what they are now.. At what point will the rise in tuition stop???