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I guess it depends on exactly what the fees are. Tim Send a noteboard - 13/05/2010 11:06:37 AM
But if the comparatively few people from working-class backgrounds who want to go to university can't afford do so, things will never get any better.

Double or triple tuition fees, and they'd still be on a level with the Dutch ones, less than half of the British ones and nothing compared to American ones. Extend the scholarships to keep the price the same for those who need it, if need be. But really, this "higher education needs to be free" thing is nonsense. If the working class people don't get to university, it really isn't because of the money, it's because our secondary education system evidently isn't good enough at getting the deserving among those people in the university-aimed tracks, because somehow they are discouraged from university studies. When I'm discussing topics like this, I suddenly find myself longing for that American dream concept that I otherwise tend to be rather sceptical about.


If you go the American way and charge €20,000, but then offer €20,000 scholarships to the poor, you'll still get mostly rich people because the poor will see the price tag and get scared. And they'll be less likely to apply because they know they can't be assured of getting a scholarship, even if they are clever.

On the other hand, if you charge €750 and offer €750 scholarships to the poor, it might work a bit better.

That said, I do sometimes resent some of the 18-year-olds on my course who are getting their degree for free while I pay through the nose. Not because I don't think tuition should be free, nor because I don't think it's fair enough to charge people for a second degree, but because a lot of them take it for granted and piss around instead of doing work. We accelerated students often say to each other "Pah, you can tell who's getting their degree for free..." Using taxpayers' money to skip lectures and sit mute and unprepated in tutorials is not OK in my book.

Some figures for you to explain the problem: most university studies in Flanders (not sure about Walloon data) have pass rates of about 50% in the first year; most of the 50% who fail will eventually get their degree with one or more years delay, but a significant amount doesn't. Of course, high failure rates in the first year is, one might argue, a necessity in a country where universities accept every student who wishes to enroll provided he has a secondary school certificate (which is one reason why I advocate entrance exams like our medicine schools have, the main reason why the pass rate is so much higher there), but it's still an enormous waste of taxpayer money.


I think guaranteed entry to anyone who finishes school, rather than free tuition, is the source of your problem :P. That way people drift into university, rather than setting their heart on getting there and working for it. Then they suddenly discover they don't have to be there as they did with school, and they go nuts.

Do universities not get to set their own standards, and make entry conditional on getting certain grades? Damn bleeding-heart liberal Europeans :P. (New Zealand is like that too)

How did this go from a post about Estonia to a post about me giving my opinion on a myriad of Belgian issues? :P


I'm in a mood for discussing politics at the moment. You can probably guess why. Also, in addition to the obvious reason, I have a Public Law exam coming up.
Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt.

—Nous disons en allemand : le guerre, le mort, le lune, alors que 'soleil' et 'amour' sont du sexe féminin : la soleil, la amour. La vie est neutre.

—La vie ? Neutre ? C'est très joli, et surtout très logique.
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So the list of countries using the euro will grow longer, not shorter... Estonia to join in 2011 Legolas - 12/05/2010 10:51:37 PM 1013 Views
Sounds like a winner Isaac - 12/05/2010 11:07:38 PM 634 Views
You Americans should like Estonia - they're rather neoliberal that way. Legolas - 12/05/2010 11:18:30 PM 832 Views
Apparently we do Isaac - 13/05/2010 05:34:41 PM 679 Views
I liked the remark one Estonian bankofficial made Bramhodoulos - 12/05/2010 11:38:26 PM 591 Views
Re: I liked the remark one Estonian bankofficial made BlackAdder - 12/05/2010 11:42:37 PM 661 Views
I stand corrected than Bramhodoulos - 12/05/2010 11:45:33 PM 547 Views
I do sometimes wish more Belgians would understand that. Legolas - 12/05/2010 11:52:41 PM 531 Views
Re: I do sometimes wish more Belgians would understand that. BlackAdder - 13/05/2010 12:05:03 AM 537 Views
That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:11:37 AM 659 Views
Social attitudes take a very long time to change. Tim - 13/05/2010 12:28:09 AM 683 Views
We have need-based scholarships. We could extend them. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:38:31 AM 565 Views
I guess it depends on exactly what the fees are. Tim - 13/05/2010 11:06:37 AM 654 Views
They're low. Too low. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:12:29 PM 676 Views
American universities do have entrance exams. Sort of. Macharius - 13/05/2010 02:17:13 PM 699 Views
Those are really too lame to count. Legolas - 13/05/2010 02:21:23 PM 713 Views
Re: Those are really too lame to count. Macharius - 13/05/2010 05:04:25 PM 724 Views
typically the more specialized programs require that LadyLorraine - 13/05/2010 05:53:20 PM 631 Views
Re: Those are really too lame to count. BlackAdder - 13/05/2010 07:32:19 PM 722 Views
Like I indicated, I'm not suggesting it in the American system. Legolas - 13/05/2010 07:53:15 PM 715 Views
meh. Most degrees are useless anyway. AgentOrange - 13/05/2010 01:14:54 AM 556 Views
That could be fixed if there weren't such stigma attached to vocational schools. Ghavrel - 13/05/2010 02:18:40 AM 581 Views
Re: That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility. BlackAdder - 13/05/2010 08:08:16 PM 635 Views
Buying a senator helps. Vodalus - 14/05/2010 02:33:44 AM 598 Views
Re: That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility. Legolas - 14/05/2010 11:48:22 AM 651 Views
Is it as late as university? Or is it a good bit earlier? EDIT: Nevermind. Answered elsewhere. Vodalus - 14/05/2010 05:36:50 PM 742 Views
Oh, it's a lot earlier. Legolas - 14/05/2010 06:03:51 PM 694 Views
Re: Is it as late as university? Or is it a good bit earlier? EDIT: Nevermind. Answered elsewhere. BlackAdder - 14/05/2010 07:57:32 PM 574 Views
Re: That would be more convincing if universities promoted more social mobility. BlackAdder - 14/05/2010 08:02:58 PM 699 Views
Come on. jh - 13/05/2010 10:13:29 AM 709 Views
naw most of them are getting degrees in liberal arts because they like to read book more then work *NM* random thoughts - 13/05/2010 02:01:59 PM 247 Views
You ever been to Estonia? If not, stop speaking. *NM* Lordling - 13/05/2010 10:29:17 AM 371 Views
your funny *NM* random thoughts - 13/05/2010 02:01:06 PM 236 Views
Surely Sweden can say, or could have said, that they wouldn't join till they damn well felt like it? Tim - 12/05/2010 11:39:57 PM 590 Views
Apparently Denmark only got the opt-out after rejecting the Maastricht treaty. Legolas - 12/05/2010 11:47:00 PM 624 Views
Good point: it seems to me no-one cares about being Belgian, only Flemish or Walloon . Tim - 12/05/2010 11:51:27 PM 498 Views
It's slightly more subtle than that. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:00:29 AM 657 Views
What do you think about this suggestion? Tim - 13/05/2010 12:09:02 AM 645 Views
That has been suggested by many, yeah. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:28:24 AM 653 Views
But before you make a decision like that... Bramhodoulos - 13/05/2010 08:36:07 AM 655 Views
They can export him to another country which needs a king. Wouldn't be the first time. Tim - 13/05/2010 10:57:59 AM 589 Views
We have a Flemish government, though. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:22:57 PM 679 Views
Hmm, a pan-European entity getting too big and splitting into Eastern and Western administrations... Tim - 13/05/2010 11:09:51 AM 556 Views
That wasn't entirely what I meant. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:15:14 PM 600 Views
There is one answer to most of those questions Bramhodoulos - 12/05/2010 11:49:46 PM 526 Views
I love that the rest of you have the euro. Tim - 12/05/2010 11:53:10 PM 508 Views
*waits for the Pound to drop and the UK begging for the euro* *NM* Bramhodoulos - 12/05/2010 11:56:25 PM 309 Views
That would be the worst time to do it. Tim - 13/05/2010 12:05:32 AM 619 Views
Well... that is true. But your exports would be really high. Ghavrel - 13/05/2010 12:11:50 AM 562 Views
Also the best time. snoopcester - 13/05/2010 12:11:53 AM 608 Views
I WIN *NM* Ghavrel - 13/05/2010 12:12:51 AM 243 Views
Bah *NM* snoopcester - 13/05/2010 12:18:48 AM 208 Views
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... *NM* Tim - 13/05/2010 12:19:32 AM 201 Views
I think on the balance, that's probably better than the opposite, but yeah, neither is ideal. *NM* Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:14:23 AM 286 Views
There is a small problem with that... jh - 13/05/2010 10:21:44 AM 521 Views
I found the wikipedia article. Tim - 13/05/2010 10:53:00 AM 707 Views
WOW WHEN DID THE UK CHANGE THEIR COINS Ghavrel - 13/05/2010 12:10:41 AM 612 Views
2008, apparently. Though I don't think we actually saw them until 2009. Tim - 13/05/2010 12:17:46 AM 633 Views
Oh. Okay. I guess the black is just a reflective thing they're doing for the photo. Ghavrel - 13/05/2010 12:37:24 AM 565 Views
I used to use a ten-pound note to inhale...things. Tom - 13/05/2010 05:54:09 AM 569 Views
You have a thing for Charles Darwin? Tim - 13/05/2010 10:45:14 AM 519 Views
From "Mean Mr. Mustard" - "keeps a ten-bob note up his nose...such a mean old man..." Tom - 13/05/2010 02:36:34 PM 546 Views
In that case I'm going to have to disappoint you. Tim - 13/05/2010 02:54:04 PM 686 Views
I knew that, but I had limited options. Tom - 13/05/2010 03:15:07 PM 659 Views
You could try a €500 note. Tim - 13/05/2010 03:18:11 PM 555 Views
In other news, the sky is blue. Legolas - 13/05/2010 03:33:25 PM 586 Views
I seem to remember reading something in 2002 about Germans paying their monthly rent in cash. Tim - 13/05/2010 03:43:35 PM 651 Views
Hm. Possible. Legolas - 13/05/2010 03:50:31 PM 534 Views
Re: In other news, the sky is blue. BlackAdder - 13/05/2010 07:45:06 PM 663 Views
Sheesh...I was just using, not dealing. Tom - 13/05/2010 03:47:05 PM 546 Views
The thrill of decadence? *NM* Tim - 13/05/2010 03:51:21 PM 240 Views
Ooh...I'm sure THAT will shore up the eurozone... *laughs* Tom - 13/05/2010 05:51:12 AM 604 Views
Agreed Balwer - 13/05/2010 12:20:12 PM 582 Views
Nobody said it would. Legolas - 13/05/2010 12:34:27 PM 581 Views
You know what will save the eurozone ? AgentOrange - 13/05/2010 04:55:06 PM 571 Views
You're a little ray of sunshine, aren't you? *NM* Legolas - 13/05/2010 05:10:48 PM 225 Views
Hey man, I don't want Europe to be the next Japan AgentOrange - 13/05/2010 05:42:26 PM 576 Views
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