Heh… where I’m at, we’re paying a mere $1,735 (US) for a full-time load this semester. (Full time = 12 credit hours, approx. 4 classes.) But we’re woefully short of funding, period. We’ve had a lot of professors jump ship for schools that pay better (I don’t blame 'em!), and because the State isn’t going to/can’t fund the education system properly, the chances of being able to actually pay a professor a decent wage here are fairly slim. We’ve already had one College in this Univeristy narrowly avoid problems with accreditation for having to rely too much on part-time (adjunct) faculty, and I can see just about every other program at this place suffering from the same problem. The only time there was even the barest rumor of a strike was when they were talking about lengthening the semester to match up with the other schools in the state… it’s the shorter semester that helps attract professors to this school despite the lack of pay.
It's only going to be a matter of time before something breaks down...
Very true, featherlou, very true… if it isn’t tuition, it’s the books. If it’s not the books, it’s the supplies. If it’s not the supplies, it’s the ‘extra fees’. And heavens help you if you want to actually eat on campus, and didn’t think to bring something along… Aieee.
Yes, I know. . .but I was referring to the US and the US system, cause I know shit all about Canadian education (only that I wanted to go to McGill and my parents wouldn’t let me). I know that Nova Scotia is a province. I guess I wasn’t clear, though. Sorry.
I wouldn’t call it poor spending habits so much as wildly differnet ones: I suspect that a family could live like a family from the fifties on one salery, but now that looks poor: one car, one small black and white TV, no microwave, no cable, no VCR, Only a radio and turn-table, no movie rentals, no advanced medical care, no orthodontics, no commercial flights, very little long distance, no internet, no computer, no air conditioning, fewer clothes, very little eating out, much cooking from scratch.
We just buy more stuff now. That’s not a value judgement, and that’s not to say that inflation isn’t a problem: it is. But it’s also true that our needs have expanded nad grown more complex and expensive as time has passed.
(Psst – the hypothetical kid at the hypothetical Palo Alto Burger King would be making $6.75 US an hour if I’m not mistaken, that being the California minimum wage)
– Dragonblink, borrowing her way through a University education
I don’t know where you guys are getting this “Burger King pays minimum wage” thing, but I’ve got to say that it just ain’t so. I used to drive to work (lifeguarding at Six Flags, the real crappy pay job. but you get to sit outside. it balances, I think) past a burger king offering $7.75 to start. In Missouri, I don’t think this is uncommon.
I think the reason behind all of this is that working at Burger King sucks. So they have to pay people more to do it. And minimum wage (whip crash!) just doesn’t cut it.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled debate.
I can’t tell you guys how nice it is to hear that I am not alone in my frustration at tuition costs (why does misery like company?). I was lucky this year to receive a large scholarship which paid for most of the tuition, and next year I am sure I can secure a similar, but much smaller scholarship. However…
I have come to accept the fate that I might be forced to ask for a loan from the government or bank (don’t get me started on the bank’s student loan programs). The government has an okay program in which I can borrow money from them and they won’t charge interest until I stop my schooling (which is a nice gesture). So I might try to apply, but I am not expecting much due to my current financial situation. It is dire, but not dire enough to warrant a stable loan (sigh).
All-in-all when dealing with student money problems I think Nightsong summed it up when he said: “if it isn’t tuition, it’s the books. If it’s not the books, it’s the supplies. If it’s not the supplies, it’s the ‘extra fees’. And heavens help you if you want to actually eat on campus, and didn’t think to bring something along”
As it turns out it really wasn’t much of an update they could have summed it up in eight words: Both sides are meeting on Monday, March 11.
Seeing as it is Tuesday afternoon right now and I am still at home in my PJ’s, I can guess that the meetting didn’t go over very well. However, according to the Dalhousie Faculty Association they are meeting today too. Everbody, please cross your fingers.
An important point to note about Canadian education:
It costs less for individuals because we pay more taxes. Smiplistically put, I know, but it’s not like we live in a society where they benevolently give us education for close-to-free.
(Says Lauren, as she should be writing a paper for McGill RIGHT NOW)
Hey, efrem, I’m a she. (And a good thing also, else my SO would be most upset…)
And I’ll cross my fingers for ya… at the least they could pay the students compensation for lost time! Hell, you paid your tuiton, and they haven’t help up their end of the deal. :mad:
At last the strike at Dalhousie University is over. We’ll be back in class by Monday, the only problem is that classes were going to end on April 4 for exams (which end on the 27th).
The administration vowed not to extend the term (they make extra money running summer courses), but instead they will lengthen class time (more days) and shorten exam prep time for students.
I really hate this (may a thousand curses plague all those who have fought to make student life here 100x more difficult then it is already), but at least I’m back in school.
I suspect it depends on where the Burger King is. Back when I had such jobs (in NYC in the early 80s), the suburban fast food places paid over minimum. The urban ones,however, not only had enough applicants to pay minimum wage, but enough to only hire people who made the restaurant eligible for a tax credit.
Doreen
(And a good thing also, else my SO would be most upset…)