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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Four premieres and five Bard plays to highlight Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2016 season Southern Oregon University names director of marketing Tot owners buy Playwright, hire Amuse chef Ashland Fire & Rescue: New column about Ashland emergency services debuts Dianne Williamson: College admissions mania ill-advised Education Southern Oregon University names director of marketing Dianne Williamson: College admissions mania ill-advised Rotary Club of Ashland names Riley O'Sullivan as Student of the Month Teacher's Tips: Who gets to teach history? Northwest Pizza to raise money for Ashland Schools Foundation Environment Mt. Ashland Ski Area to host party March 28 Mt. Ashland hopes coming storm will reopen ski area Wild Side: Selfish and other reasons for saving endangered species Mt. Ashland Ski Area: Low snow closes 'bunny hill' chairlift for beginning skiers With pre-season conditions worst in 25 years, catastrophic wildfires expected in region this summer Business Southern Oregon University names director of marketing Tot owners buy Playwright, hire Amuse chef Ashland's Standing Stone brew pub joins green beer coalition Cars We Remember: 1967 Rambler Rebel, 1960 Rambler American Super, and some early engine design flaws Silvio Calabi: Nissan has a winner with its new Murano Politics and elections Arthur I. Cyr: Iran – a crisis without end Short-term rental restrictions kept in some areas, loosened in others Arthur I. Cyr: South Korea represents long-term triumph – for them and for US Mark L. Hopkins: Looking for a political straight shooter Oregon's governor appoints new secretary of state State News Oregon's governor appoints new secretary of state Nation - World Leonard Nimoy, famous as Mr. Spock on 'Star Trek,' dies Obituaries Rosalind Dee Death Notices Norman Christlieb James Ellis York Death Notices Shareable Bank of America is predicting a massive Tesla collapse Sports Latest Stories Grizz bats heat up in Bend Kansas City Royals star pitcher Jeremy Guthrie visits Ashland to kickoff fundraising campaign Ducks enjoy the challenge Fantasy Sports: Clayton Kershaw a clear-cut ace Oregon bows out High school Grizzlies rally past GP, to 2-0 start Ashland boys capture another Sato Cup snowboard title at Mt. Bachelor Fredrickson leads Grizzlies to season-opening romp Grizz alpine skiers finish strong at state Ashland High's Honsinger tops field in final nordic ski meet Southern Oregon University Ducks enjoy the challenge Oregon bows out Oregon State women come up short in second-round loss to Gonzaga Raiders roughed up at Corban Ducks survive, advance Voices Latest Stories Rick Holmes: What addicts say about getting high and getting better Landgren cartoon: Arsenic wine Dianne Williamson: College admissions mania ill-advised Council Corner: Getting to yes or no — or maybe Granlund cartoon: Ted Cruz enters the 2016 race Editorial Our View: Ashland High principal is the head of her class Our View: Tuition trauma Our View: SOU's economic clout Our view: Keep it simple in developing marijuana rules Our View: Ashland is at risk as a bad fire season looms Letters Letters to the Editor, March 23 Letters to the Editor, March 20 Letters to the Editor, March 19 Letters to the Editor, March 18 Letters to the Editor, March 17 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Hannah Thomas-Garner's father thanks the Ashland community Guest Opinion: Ashland is asking for trouble with new room rental rules Guest Opinion: More reasons to oppose Jordan Cove Guest Opinion: It's Groundwater Awareness Week; test your well Guest Opinion: Ashland schools failed to protect my son from bullying Columns Council Corner: Getting to yes or no — or maybe Chris Honoré: 'Like a ghastly rapid river, through the pale door, a hideous throng rush out ...' Herb Rothschild: Donating with care Guest Opinion: Hannah Thomas-Garner's father thanks the Ashland community Matthew T. Mangino: When is a confession not a confession? Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories The Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical 'Long Day's Journey into Night' Community blog: Words, wine and Craig Wright 4 Things To Do This Week Improv rock and folk band hosts a dance party at the Ashland Community Center Best bets for entertainment around Ashland, March 19 Theater The Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical 'Long Day's Journey into Night' Ticket Availability Camelot Theatre in Talent: This 'Sunset' is not as dark Ticket availability Ticket availability Music Album reviews: Recent and recommended for March The Farr Side: New format for ‘American Idol’ as show continues a strong run Improv rock and folk band hosts a dance party at the Ashland Community Center The Farr Side: Madonna — ever the trendsetter Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder John McEuen performs at the Unitarian Fellowship in Ashland Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Movie review: ‘The Gunman’ misses the target Movie listings: March 20-26 More wonderful wrinkles at 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' 8 must-see spring films Movie review: ‘Wrecking Crew’ is a look at the people who really put the bomp Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Tot owners buy Playwright, hire Amuse chef Season Stepp: Waffle iron isn’t just for breakfast anymore Food for Thought: Watermelon is the perfect smoothie ingredient Episode 2.4: The case of the missing client Cars We Remember: 1967 Rambler Rebel, 1960 Rambler American Super, and some early engine design flaws Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Four premieres and five Bard plays to highlight Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2016 season ... Southern Oregon University names director of marketing ... Tot owners buy Playwright, hire Amuse chef ... Four premieres and five Bard plays to highlight Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2016 season ... Southern Oregon University names director of marketing ... Tot owners buy Playwright, hire Amuse chef ... Mark L. Hopkins: Two years of free college tuition? By Mark L. Hopkins More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Mark L. Hopkins More Content Now Posted Mar. 23, 2015 @ 9:11 am By Mark L. Hopkins More Content Now Posted Mar. 23, 2015 @ 9:11 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> During his State of the Union address, President Obama focused briefly on a proposal to provide free tuition for two years of community college education. This is an intriguing idea, and it deserves a close examination. I have experience at various levels of higher education, and have served as president of two public community colleges and two smaller private universities. With my history, you may think I have a vested interest in President Obama’s free tuition proposal. In truth, all of us have a vested interest in this idea. The questions to ask are, first, why should we do it? And second, how much will it cost? There are many positive reasons to affect this free education proposal that will benefit both our young people and our economy. However, I will focus on only one, and it is negative. Our high schools are not measuring up to the standards set in other countries with whom we must compete in the international marketplace. It isn’t my intention to infer that our high schools are inferior. In truth, we are No. 1 in the world in every measure of high school education from facilities to qualified teachers, except one. We don’t send our young people to school as many hours in the day or as many days in the year as students in places like China, Japan, Finland and Germany. A student in China goes to school from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. six days a week, and their school year is 240 days each year. By comparison, an American student gets six hours a day on a 180-day school calendar. Is it any wonder that Chinese students score higher on standardized tests than American students? That extra time in the classroom computes to the equivalent of two additional years of instruction by the time they leave high school. There are only two ways to increase the instructional time for our students, lengthen the school year or add additional years onto the end of high school. Proposals to lengthen the school year have failed, perhaps we can add the additional two years at the end. Cost is a key factor, of course. But, we should remember that our government already pays college tuition for a significant number of students through military veteran benefits, Pell grants and other subsidies. If the first two years were free, it would cut back significantly on those current costs. And, we already have the facilities, technology and the teachers needed to effect this proposal. What remains is to figure out what to cut in our country’s many-trillion-dollar budget to come up with the necessary $6 billion a year we will need to fund this project. If we are to compete in the world market in the future, can we do otherwise? Dr. Mark L. Hopkins writes for More Content Now and Scripps Newspapers. He is past president of colleges and universities in four states and currently serves as executive director of a higher-education consulting service. His latest book, “Journey to Gettysburg,” is now available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Contact him at [email protected]. By Mark L. Hopkins More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Mark L. 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