e platform that can help an individual (or perhaps an organization) network and learn to effectively communicate with their audience. Agreed. However, I’m not sold on the idea of networking via The Internet. Is it really necessary that my peers know and follow my thoughts?

I’ve never been much of a blogger, or blog follower, for that matter. I was required to blog in PFP (GRAD 5104) and though my response was to fear and resist, I did feel a sense of satisfaction when I received positive feedback from my peers. That being said, outside of class I am still hesitant to post my thoughts to The Internet for public viewing. (I prefer reposting other people’s thoughts or educational content. That’s still a form of blogging, right?)

My level of blog knowledge is admittedly archaic. I am

I appreciate this post so much! I also wrote on my blog for this class about the expenses of higher education. I enjoyed reading your perspectives here about potential explanations for the cost of college. I have to wonder if high-cost administration salaries are not a big part of the blame for the high sticker-price of so many colleges and universities.

Thank you for presenting this perspective.

Also, in other developed countries (pick one in Europe), though the excellent services, skilled professors with good salary, well maintained buildings and resources and all exist, which were used as the reasons by the economists presented in your blog, the cost of education is nowhere close to the one in the United States. In fact, in many of them, the tuition is free, and there might even be some stipend for students. The absurd cost of education here, has to have some more reason on why it is so high.

I also wrote for this class about my concerns surrounding the continuously rising cost of higher education. I had an economics professor in college who insisted that student debt would be the next “bubble” to burst after the Great Recession of 2008. I, fearfully, think he is getting more correct on this hypothesis as each day passes.

I really enjoyed reading your post! My uncle is the former Dean of Students and VP of a small private college in North Carolina, and given this class I have asked him a lot more about his job this semester, as well! I agree that the strategic plan is a crucial genre that drives a lot of decisions and choices within the university.

You raise some excellent questions here! I think about this question a lot, particularly when I see the debits from my bank account for the various student fees we are required to pay, haha. But in all seriousness, I appreciate your statement that a student’s mental health is very much a part of their ability to succeed in the classroom, I absolutely agree. I do think it is also somewhat the responsibility of the students to take the full advantage of what an institution has to offer, particularly in terms of engaging with alumni networks and using on-campus resources to find jobs and internships. Thanks for writing!

I heard about this case this morning on NPR! I had previously heard of CRISPR through one of my favorite podcasts, Radiolab where the hosts frequently discuss the ethical complications of this technology. I agree with the other commenters that it is a particularly troubling case. I found the fact that this scientist wanted to announce his project to the world after the twins were born, rather than at the beginning of the work, particularly problematic. This type of research concerns me in terms of the potential “patening” of technologies and genetic code.

To me this is a practical form of ethical misconduct which sounds more dangerous than the cases we studied in the class, as it threats the well-being of the twin girls directly. I hope to see more restricted access to in vitro/ vivo samples.

Thank you for sharing this incredible experience. I was always wondering how colleges/universities measure or evaluate how well they are meeting their mission statement. It is great to learn that behind that kind of vague/broad mission statement, there are some solid steps that the college administration is taking care of. And I also appreciate that for your uncle’s seminary, they are agile for the changes they face on the public service and clear about their mission in the region.

Just read through all the comments. That’s interesting post and discussion. Want to add two thoughts here: 1) public universities tuition is still way cheaper than private universities due to the fact that public universities receive more federal/state funding. However, I agree it is expensive and I really hope there is some mechanism to bring down the cost; 2) International students are paying much more here for the education and all the service on campus. We can trace back to late 2000’s when the higher education funding shrinks and international students enrollment starts increasing dramatically.