Cash Incentives on an International Level

In two semi-related stories this week, institutions of higher education are considering paying students for good grades.

In England, it is being called a “scholarship arms race” to recruit students with high exam scores to the less prestigious colleges and universities. But the government has reason to be concerned because as costs are rising, a percentage of the population of Great Britain is increasingly being priced out of higher education. The story in the Telegraph explains the incoming students for 2012 will be the first to face tuition fess of  9,000pounds, which would currently equal $14,293.85 a year.

The merit-based payments in Britain are directed to recruitment for mid-sized schools, such as City University London, so they can compete in recruiting and maintaining high achieving students just like the more prestigious institutions, such as Oxford and Cambridge. However, critics in England are comparing this program to U.S. scholarship programs, citing research showing cash incentives benefit students from mid and upper class backgrounds, not those actually in need of funding.

The same concern about funding those from affluent backgrounds is also being tied to a movement by the United Arab Emirate (UAE) government. In the other story from the New YorkTimes this week about motivating students with money, the UAE government will be offering cash payments to college students for good grades and for majoring in less illustrious subjects, such as education. Specialists cited in this story allude to the entitlement attitude of UAE students historically because of their family backgrounds. Typically, these students expect to receive government jobs after graduation because of their families’ wealth and financial governmental support. However, as more and more people from diverse cultures move to this area of the world, the skilled professions, such as law and engineering, are filling with immigrates, not national citizens.

It was interesting that both stories used research from United States as a basis for arguments against the programs. An example of this would be Dr. Roland Fryer’s research with the Harvard’s EducationalInventory Laboratory’s regarding paying Fourth Grade students to achieve academically. 

Both these stories opened my eyes one again to my Western based perspective. They helped me to see the bigger, worldview of finances and different priorities and perspectives. While we in the United States face the reality of less government funding, other countries governments are stepping in to help ensure student support and motivation. When discussing cash as a motivator for continuing high grades, I agree with the critics in the UAE story who suggest the motivation for students to achieve high grades and learn should be intrinsic, not financial. Even though holistic student development may be the ultimate goal, getting everyone involved to work towards that end means changing deeply ingrained expectations. 

It is refreshing to recognize the have similar concerns about students across cultures, even if the approaches are slightly different.