Contre les frais de scolarité

-Everybody can access higher education

“students from all financial backgrounds get access to a

college education or higher education” (l.9-10)

“a great help for students who can’t afford to pay

high amounts of tuition fees” (l.17-18)

= money is not an obstacle 

à it’s a fairer system

There is less discrimination

Your background does not matter.

-More people will graduate 

It will “increase the graduate percentage of the nation.”(l.19)

-More educated people will boost the economy

“This will lead to a well-educated workforce that

contribute more to a developed economy” (l.38-39)

-it allows students to begin their life

without debts, giving them more opportunities in life

“With less debt or not debt the graduates can have

a better quality of life eventually contributing to the

country’s economy.” (l.25-26)

Students don’t have to spend many years

repaying the loans.

-students can choose a major which they like,

and not a major that promises a higher salary in order to pay back their debts

(l.26-31)

-education is open to everyone: it sounds like

a perfect situation

-you can afford to fail and repeat a year,

because it’s not very expensive.  

-you can easily try a major,

and then change your mind, and try something else… (which you

cannot when you have to pay) 

Pour les frais de scolarité

-the funding issue:

it costs a lot of money, so taxes will be raised

“an increased tax rate to high-income people” (l.47-48)

- “Students won’t learn about the value of money” and how to manage their finances (l.50-53)

- students may give less importance to college classes and become “lazy” (l.57-58)

-too many graduates means a lower overall level, and maybe a lack of jobs. Graduates may end doing “high school level jobs for which they are overqualified”

- overcrowded classrooms or not enough capacity to accept everyone’s enrollment, “public schools won't have seats for these many candidates” (l.70)

- Consequences on private institutions: less admission, lack of funds… 

Some private colleges may not survive (as “these colleges run from the tuition fees of students, endowments and alumni donations” (l.77-78)

-French universities are cheap, but do not belong to the top universities in the world ”rankings constatnly neglect France”  (l. 1-2)  problem of quality of education? 

-The system is unfair  : “exclusionary principles” (l. 8) 

A huge part of the higher education budget (30%) goes to the “Grandes Ecoles” which account for only 5% of French students. 

-With so many students, French students “cannot expect much individual attention” or “well-maintained buildings” (l. 16) + “large classrooms”

Problem of overcrowding

“Every French citizen with a high school diploma (Baccalauréat) has the right to attend a university.” (l. 28) 

This sounds very fair but : 

-overfilled auditoria (l.29) = overcrowded classrooms

-high dropout rates (l. 30) = lots of students just give up 

-competition between students (in medical studies for example) (l. 30-33) 

-high failure rate in first year : “close to 50%”  (l. 41-42)  waste of money  ‘”drain government resources” (l. 46)

 “larger class sizes”

è Waste of time for students 

Suggestions of improvement : (l. 57-63)

-using English as the teaching language

-a more open application process (Parcoursup???)

-more rigorous admission criteria

When it’s free, people do not value their education, they do not work hard, they change careers, they repeat subjects several times…. 

-people value more their education when they have to pay for it, and work more

Vocabulaire :

- tuition fees : frais de scolarité

- the tuition fee cap: Le plafonnement des frais de scolarité

- an undergraduate student : un étudiant de premier cycle

- the academic year: l'année académique

- full-time study / part-time study: étude a temps plein / études à temps partiel

- to be eligible for: D'être éligible a l'

- a rate (e.g : tuition rates): Un taux

- funding: financement

- financial aid: aide financière

- to range from X to Y: d'aller de X à Y

- a degree / an undergraduate degree: d'un diplôme/ d'un diplôme de premier cycle

- in-state students // out-of-state students: Etudiants de l'état / Etudiants de l'extérieur de l'Etat

- college ( faux ami!) : Université

- to charge (money) / to be charged : facture, être facturé

- to subsidize : subventionner

-       poor financial backgrounds: antécédents financiers médiocres

-       to be deprived of college education: d'être privé d'études collégiales

-       to pay high amounts of tuition fees: Payer des frais de scolarité élevés

-       to afford: se permettre

-       tuition-free college: université sans frais de scolarité

-       a relaxation in tuition fees: un assouplissement des frais de scolarité

-       to abrogate the tuition fees: abroger les frais de scolarité

-       to drop out of college : D'abandonner l'université

-       to reduce the college dropout rates: Réduire le taux de décrochage scolaire

-       to take a student loan: Pour contracter un prêt étudiant

-       to bear the brunt of a student loan: Pour faire les frais d'un prêt étudiant

-       to repay a debt / to pay off the debts or the education loan: pour rembourser une dette ou prêt d'étude

-       college degrees: Diplômes d'études collégiales

-       to graduate: Obtenir son diplôme

-       practical majors: majors pratiques

-       a high paycheck / a good salary : un salaire élevé / un bon salaire

-       a well-educated, skilled, and highly qualified workforce : Hautement qualifiée

-       funding (for infrastructure, hiring of professors…)Financement

-       taxes: Impôts

-       an increased tax rate: Une augmentation du taux d'imposition

-       high-income people: Les personnes à revenu élevé

-       the value of money: La valeur de l'argent

-       to manage one’s finance: Pour gerer ses finances

-       to be self-reliant and responsible: Etre autonome et responsable

-       to plan a career: pour planifier une carrière

-       to be overqualified: d' être surqualifié

-to run from the tuition fees of students, endowments and alumni donations. : pour financer les frais de scolarité des étudiants, les fonds de dotation et les dons des anciens élèves. 

-the elite schools / the Grandes Ecoles 

-a higher quality education 

-a high school diploma (the Baccalauréat) 

-overfilled auditoria

-dropout rate

-failure rate 

-to pass an exam ( faux ami!) ≠ to take an exam/ to have an exam

-to repeat your first year