In this extended public education agenda you are supporting...does it include trades training or only traditional college? How long? For all income levels? Open to all or is there a modicum of academic or technical qualification to get in?
the time to train or educate a plumber or electrician or carpenter or auto mechanic or doctor or surgeon or dentist or chiropractor or architect or lawyer or civil engineer or history teacher or math teacher or software engineer may all differ, and the time frame set out should correspond to the time frame needed to achieve the end goal, with allocations for those advancing their learning part time, while also working or doing other things.
and people change directions, when what they first pursue turns out looking different than they initially thought.
making the process affordable on the public side, will allow for flexibility.
the assumption is, most people will learn their trade as quickly as possible, to begin reaping the benefits of their newly acquired skills. (you're eliminating a lot of the fun/social side).
while govt supported, the emphasis will be on learning the trade only, and not a bunch of ancillary classes as well, as with traditional college. (someone learning dentistry need not be taking english lit and astronomy as well).
and english lit majors need not take finite or accounting.
IU Btown or Penn St or Ga Tech or UCLA can't logistically absorb twice or three times as many students on campus as they have now. (not that Btown landlords wouldn't love that concept).
but reality is, the internet has already been invented, and allows for massive economies of scale, and learning many trades without a physical campus presence needed.
to not utilize this tool would be foolhardy, and to not realize the educational possibilities it can provide, would also be.
free college education needn't require 4 yrs on campus with a dorm room and meals.
that said, electrician or plumber or mechanic or family MD or dentist or surgeon, or RN, does require being more hands on than english teacher or lawyer or math teacher or economist or MBA, and thus should be treated accordingly.
that said, far more physical campuses will be needed, but there is no current shortage of empty office space.
free college education or advanced vocational/skills training, needn't mean everyone doing so as part of extended public education, have the same experience or time frame or cost as someone attending UM Ann Arbor or IU Btown.
the emphasis should be on the education, not the experience.
this should make the price tag much more affordable for those freaking out at it now.
and the logistics.
and will add hundreds of thousands of very good jobs for those who can teach/grade such skills and fields, and administer the physical and digital infrastructures needed.
that said, the current institutions of higher learning like IU or Cal or UVa or Ivy Tech, should be involved in the administration, accreditation, and over site of, but not at whatever price they choose.
the world didn't go crazy when we expanded public education in the past, and it shouldn't now.
