(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
DeSantis continues to destroy higher education [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-01-09
Now I know this seems like just another day in the life of Gov. DeSantis as this man seems to have a real problem with anyone educating any citizen in his state. But this time it looks like he could really do some actual damage to the curricula.
As the MSNBC article states.
Last week, the Florida Phoenix reported on a new pilot program approved by the state’s Board of Governors, the body that oversees Florida’s colleges and universities, to conduct an evaluation of a select group of five undergraduate programs related to the “operational costs, student outcomes, and return on investment (ROI) of each program.” According to a recent request for proposals, the board seeks a vendor to evaluate computer science, civil engineering, finance, nursing and women/gender studies programs at various Florida schools. The Phoenix noted that Florida Republicans already have tried to ban ethnic studies and gender studies degree programs in the state. And a Democratic state lawmaker, Rep. Anna Eskamami, told the outlet that the ROI evaluation could be a way to revive the discussion:
The loaded term here is “return on investment”. How does one actually put that into realistic terms? A state’s funding on education is an attempt by the government to positively affect not just the economy and job opportunities in the state, but also to improve the way of life within society. As one person stated it before, it’s like what if the state only funded degrees for engineers and not teachers because they earn less. In a decade, there would be less teachers and thus less engineers could be taught.
The issue of ROI isn’t just about the earnings potential and state tax revenue. It’s about training people to be valuable members of society in general. An educated society raises values on everything in that region. From job salaries to property values. It is a win-win for the state to simply provide funding for any degree program that has enough people wanting it. Why does the state even need to decide what generates the best tax revenue when they can’t even accurately estimate the ROI formula with any precision.
Maybe it’s time this Board of Governer’s overseeing this study got “educated”.
MSNBC Article -Florida officials have given DeSantis and his allies a new way to attack women’s studies by Ja'han Jones
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/9/2296035/-DeSantis-continues-to-destroy-higher-education?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
