Why are college prices rising drastically, and what can be done about it?

Answer 1

Most of the "education funding" today goes to something other than education.

A huge chunk of federal ed. money goes to pay interest on student loans for students who are still enrolled (i.e., it's guaranteed profit for Sallie Mae and the others who are under suspicion for improper activities this month).

Higher education spends more on things that are supposed to attract students (recruiting, extracurriculars, marketing, student activities) than on things essential for quality education (faculty salaries, libraries). This happens due to the emphasis on "competition" and "running a college like a business."

Education funding at all levels is needlessly complicated, and there's a cacaphony of new requirements (access, accountability, NCLB, CQI). Each of these requirements creates new administrators, sometimes by mandate. Administrative bloat is massive; comparing my high school 40 years ago to one in a similar sized community today shows an administration about 10 times as large; comparing the community college I started at with a similar one today shows the same.

In other words, we're paying for debt, marketing, and bureaucracy--not for education. Eliminate financial aid (give that money directly to schools and require tuition reductions to match), remove the need for so much marketing, and simplify funding and oversight so that we don't need massive administrations--and I'm confident the schools would all have plenty of money to go around.

Answer 2

State budgets are unable to provide as much as they used to be able to for public universities.
To compensate for that, public universities have raised tuition. There is usually a limit on how much it can be raised per year.
I know in Texas, in 2003 i think it was, tuition was deregulated and left up to the university to make up for the lack of money the government provided.

Answer 3

College prices are like most other things in the economy, and as you may have noticed, most things are getting more expensive. As colleges need to deal with rising costs for teachers, fuel, and other necessities, so too must their tuitions.

Answer 4

Much of my job at my university revolves around student costs and fees. Trin is correct--in Texas a couple of years ago, the state legislature decided to deregulate university tuition, thinking that the campus officials would lock-in the costs at a low level. The state then also decided (like almost every other state and the federal government) to cut financial support for universities, which meant that we suddenly had to find revenue or shut down. Many states now get part of their revenue from the state based on something called formula funding--the state will give us money based on what students are taking what classes. For example, we might get $3/semester credit hour for every junior taking a junior-level biology class, but we'll only get $1/semester credit hour if that same student is taking a remedial math class (that also means we're probably losing money on that student). Toss in faculty/staff salaries and benefits (27% benefits to 100% salary, which isn't all that much, really), infrastructure costs (every time a student thinks it's funny to throw a window unit air conditioner out of a window, that probably costs the university $500 minimum, since we also have to pay labor costs to install a new unit), computer access, library access, grounds and maintenance (you have to pay someone to cut the grass and pick up the trash from the last frat party), utilities (have you seen an electric bill lately?), and you're looking at quite a hefty annual bill. Tuition contributes only a small percentage of overall revenue, and the more states cut funding, the more we have to raise tuition and fees.

Here's a good example from real life: a local university contracted for a shuttle service for its students but left off one minor detail--how to pay for it. The university was in a financial pinch, with no cash to spare, and the students voted down a fee to support the service. The service is now pending cancellation, since the company wants its money. Who is going to pay for it?

If you want to see tuition/fees lowered or at least capped, here are some ideas:

1) Contact your state and federal representatives and insist that they support funding for universities.
2) Do not damage school property.
3) Argue for limiting programs at all universities. In Texas, we have three library schools, and two of them are across the street from one another is a small town. We also have law and pharmacy schools across the street from each other at competing universities. If we eliminate the duplicative programs, we can eliminate faculty (and benefits), close down classrooms/buildings to save energy, and eliminate other fees. However, you will have fewer choices about where you can go to school, but you'll have to live with that.
4) Opt for being taught by fewer professors face-to-face. A fulltime professor in history, for example, might cost the university $50,000 in salary and another $13,000 in benefits, or $63,000 total (Finance profs start at about $120,000 in salary alone). Say that professor teaches a full load for the semester, which normally is four classes. Here's how to save money: get rid of that professor and hire two adjuncts (parttimers), who will normally get $4000 a class (if they're lucky) and no benefits. The two profs would then teach all four of those classes for a total cost of $16,000 (parttimers do not normally get benefits). And if the classes are taught online, you can shutdown the buildings. You might think I'm kidding, but more universities are being forced to go this route; you might find yourself one day not having a single fulltime prof teaching you all semester.