Understanding the quality of education: Why comparing student fees falls flat based on the quality of the education and the individual student.

Asking a college or university the questions that they should be answering – an education is an investment – the question is what is being received for that investment.

Understanding the quality of education: *Image credit: Shutterstock, Inc © Digital Storm

A FirstStep.me feature,

Student debt, student fees, the cost of education – sorry folks these issues aren’t going away for a long time! Unless you follow the Nordic Regions and German free higher education system, students will have the financial challenges throughout their studies. However, even in the free education zones, money issues are still at large. The cost of living, transport and text books, among other things all add up.

Whether you like it or not, financial issues have to be sorted and tackled head on.

Generally speaking, any properly accredited institution will have its fee structure available on their official website. Alternatively, these details can be accessed from the appropriate resource centre or office. Unless students actually utilise their studies and all the resources available to them, making sure the value of the education they receive matches the fees they’re paying, comparing fee structures is pointless – especially if they drop-out during their studies.

Therefore make sure the quality of the education you’re about to receive is worth the financial and mental sweat that goes into getting the qualification.

Measuring the value of education with a checklist of questions:

- What are the conditions and requirements of attending the university or college?

- Are there extra curricula facilities available and fees associated with them?

- Academic benefits, such as library facilities, tutor and mentor options.

- Access to employment, such as internships, student jobs, career setups, exposure to recruiters?

- International study opportunities?

- Business, career and education development?

- Student finance options?

Once you graduate – even if you don’t have any student debt – people operate in a world where careers are built on quality. Sure, some universities automatically open doors into various career options, but at the end of the day, the individual holds responsibility no matter how prestigious or expensive their alma mater was.