Why are MCC prices out-of-sight?
MCC. That's McHenry County College. A 2-year college. A junior college. How do they get away with over-charging for courses, even short, non-credit, occasional courses?
The following courses were announced in the weekly electronic bulletin of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce.Topics include:
Managing Conflict with Peers Sept. 7
Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen & Lead Sept. 14
Changing Yourself and Your Reputation Sept. 21
Influence: Gaining Commitment, Getting Results Sept. 28
Ongoing Feedback: How to Get It, How to Use It Oct. 5
Courses are scheduled from 8:00-9:30 a.m. at the Shah Center, in McHenry, just south of Bull Valley Road.
Now, get this. The fee for each "course" is $40.00. If you opt to sign up and pay in advance for all five, get a 15% discount and pay $170. The promo reads, "McHenry County College Shah Center recognizes the need for short-term, targeted workplace skill enhancement for area employees."
Does MCC think that an employer will pop for the $40 (or the $170)? What is really going to be covered (and beneficial) in just 90 minutes? To me, it doesn't look like a "course" or even a workshop or seminar. It's a class.
There is nothing wrong with an institution's covering its cost. But let's say 15 show up at $40 each. That's $600. The person teaching it gets $50-75. And the rest? Ka-ching. Right into MCC coffers (and out of the pockets of those attending).
And what if an unemployed person thinks a little skill "enhancement" might help at his next interviews? Can he afford the $40? Why not price a 90-minute class at $15-20 and attract more registrations?
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
7 comments:
"Why not price a 90-minute class at $15-20 and attract more registrations? "
Answer: GREED.
I have to say that courses from private companies and even other community colleges are much higher for comparable classes. A minimum of $100 to $150 would be "normal" for a business to expect to pay in Cook County at least.
MCC is out of control. They always give the teachers raises. They always hike the tuition. How come they don't think about the STUDENTS' pockets. They looked at their total compensation,found out they get more than other community colleges, and then gave them EVEN MORE! In 2000 a credit hour was about 50 dollars. In 2008 it was about 75 dollars. Now what is it? 100 dollars or so per credit. We had a 100 percent increase in twelve years. Now MCC wants to spend millions of dollars on an expansion and the numbers have came out saying the growth won't be there. Plus, they're just talking about expanding just for the sake of expanding. I haven't heard of any new programs they plan on starting. Oh, good job with your four million dollar cafeteria rennovation. Taxpayers get so much out of that. You can't compare MCC to other community colleges. They're approaching the prices of CLC and ECC but those two colleges offer so much more. Compare their course catalogs if you don't believe me. They don't advertise their professional programs in their catalog either (welding, cdl, etc.)I knew so many students that didn't even understand the difference between an AS and an AAS or what they were going to school for. MCC offers "certificate programs". You don't get a degree you just take about a semester or two worth of work and you get a certificate. They're not even the professional certificates you need sometimes. Many times their "certificates" are just pieces of paper awarded to you by MCC. MCC 101 is a class you get nothing out of. It's just a scam they TELL you you have to take but it doesn't appear on any degree requirements. When you think about it a college's purpose isn't to help any student get a job. MCC just needs to fill their classes so they get money. They have no inscentive to give back to the community even though the community probably subsidizes them. Guess what? Not everyone can be a personal trainer, fireman, or pastry chef. They need to start requiring computer classes and some 21st century skills. What do students in BRICS nations learn? Maybe we need to start looking at where actual jobs are and are going to be so we can be competetive in a 21st century world economy instead of telling all the children "you can be whatever you want to when you grow up". Many majors limit people to one thing only: teaching that study. That doesn't really seem sustainable, in my opinion.
Joseph, thank you for your well-written comment. You have identified many areas that deserve intensive examination.
Thanks Gus and sorry for the long rant. I went there and saw their problems from within so I felt like blowing the whistle on some of their practices. Anytime MCC is in the NW Herald I just cringe. It seems like it's never good news. I'm not against education but I just think people need to start trying a little harder to make education better instead of bigger. Oops, forgot the Promise program which let some students pay nothing while others had to pay the full price which included a tuition hike. I heard stories of kids who didn't want to go there going there because it was free. Obviously, those kids dropped out. They overcroweded the school also. The Promise was a bad deal. I also wrote a letter to the Herald about MCC Police when that little fiasco broke the news.
The new Pres. got snookered on the MCC Police deal. That never should gotten off the ground. Why would a Ford Interceptor be needed to change down parking violators?
I agree that the Promise was a rotten deal from the start. You can't give free education to those who don't want it and who are qualified to handle it. The money was wasted.
Joseph, thanks for your additional comment.
The Promise Program started the year after Joe Monack and I graduated, and it was complete crap. It had the easiest "requirements" to maintain, yet most of those students dropped out. Those slots that those students wasted could have been used by people like Joe and myself, who REALLY wanted an education, but couldn't afford one.
Gus, you and I usually don't get along, but this is one thing I will always have your back on, 100%. The college is TOO EXPENSIVE and they make BAD DECISIONS on what to spend their money on.
I dropped out of school and chose to work full time, simply because I couldn't afford to go to school.
And Joe made a very very good point. They are hiking up the tuition costs and making expansions, yet they're not offering any new classes. Do they realize how much they could make, by simply adding a Medical Assistant program? Or a Dental Assistant Program?
Maybe they'll realize what they're doing, when they hike it up too much, and they start losing students. And once they start losing students, they start losing money.
Post a Comment