Include necessary
materials as part of the tuition
by Janet Tabares
- April 24, 2001
| I
feel that software should be included as part of the cost of tuition in
the case of Vocational Schools. These schools cost more to attend than
taking the same courses at a Community College, but many that go to
these schools cannot afford to purchase the software that they are
learning. This is especially true for MS Office 2000. The cheapest that
I have seen this software package sell for is $150. and that is the
upgrade version after a rebate. The initial cost was $189. That's a lot
of money to spend when you don't have it. Many of the folks attending Vocational Schools are there because of State Governmental funding. The Schools charge more because they can, and because usually one of the conditions for payment to the school is that the student actually graduate. If a student drops out, the materials that the school provides are gone, and also the time in class is not paid for. In an age where computers are the rule and not the exception, we must endeavor to help those that actually want to learn and better themselves by giving them the tools that they need to do so. |