4 ms·

These are not about subsidizing higher education. These are entirely about correcting an administrative issue where grad students need to be enrolled in classes

by Fomite 9y ago

These are not about subsidizing higher education. These are entirely about correcting an administrative issue where grad students need to be enrolled in classes, but are not taking up the resources that tuition is supposed to cover.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
chiefalchemist 9y ago
Can you elaborate? I don't understand the problem. Also, if these goes to students for edu, how is that not a form of subsidy? I'm not being snarky. I just don't - yet? - follow your reasoning.
- mattkrause 9y ago
  Most PhD courses are essentially book-keeping exercises like "Preparing for Qualifying Exams" or "Dissertation Research." These classes, which have no instructor and never actually meet; they exist to maintain the students' "student status" so they can get a degree, remain on health insurance, etc. They're worth much closer to $4/yr than $40k/yr. That said, I do (slightly) disagree with @Fomite. These high (nominal) tuition rates do subsidize the university because they can be charged to outside funders, but this is very, very different from subsidizing the students directly. The idea that graduate students are receiving too much largesse at the tax payer expense, though, would be hilarious if it weren't so scary.
  - Fomite 9y ago
    I honestly agree with your middle sentence - it can be used to make outside funders cover students (though I'd argue part of this is actually correct, as there's no promise a funded student is in the 'pure research' phase - indeed, none of the three students funded on my current grants are).
- Fomite 9y ago
  As Matt has said, essentially what happens when you get out of the coursework portion of your PhD is that you're now working on research. In a lab, at your dining room table, etc. But it's important for a number of reasons that you remain a student. It allows access to student services, you maintain full enrollment so student loan related repayment things don't trigger yet, you're eligible for student health insurance, etc. So you need to take whatever a "full load" is, and tuition is billed accordingly. Except the university knows this is silly. You're not taking classes with instructor time, or in need of a classroom, TAs, etc. So you get a tuition waiver. Basically, the sum total of this is to allow for an accounting workaround because there's limited ways to express "You're a full time student taking no classes".

by Fomite 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

chiefalchemist 9y ago

Can you elaborate? I don't understand the problem. Also, if these goes to students for edu, how is that not a form of subsidy? I'm not being snarky. I just don't - yet? - follow your reasoning.

mattkrause 9y ago
Most PhD courses are essentially book-keeping exercises like "Preparing for Qualifying Exams" or "Dissertation Research." These classes, which have no instructor and never actually meet; they exist to maintain the students' "student status" so they can get a degree, remain on health insurance, etc. They're worth much closer to $4/yr than $40k/yr. That said, I do (slightly) disagree with @Fomite. These high (nominal) tuition rates do subsidize the university because they can be charged to outside funders, but this is very, very different from subsidizing the students directly. The idea that graduate students are receiving too much largesse at the tax payer expense, though, would be hilarious if it weren't so scary.
- Fomite 9y ago
  I honestly agree with your middle sentence - it can be used to make outside funders cover students (though I'd argue part of this is actually correct, as there's no promise a funded student is in the 'pure research' phase - indeed, none of the three students funded on my current grants are).
Fomite 9y ago
As Matt has said, essentially what happens when you get out of the coursework portion of your PhD is that you're now working on research. In a lab, at your dining room table, etc. But it's important for a number of reasons that you remain a student. It allows access to student services, you maintain full enrollment so student loan related repayment things don't trigger yet, you're eligible for student health insurance, etc. So you need to take whatever a "full load" is, and tuition is billed accordingly. Except the university knows this is silly. You're not taking classes with instructor time, or in need of a classroom, TAs, etc. So you get a tuition waiver. Basically, the sum total of this is to allow for an accounting workaround because there's limited ways to express "You're a full time student taking no classes".