Cost of University education has nearly tripled relative to the economy. That holds true whether you’re looking at Transportation, housing, food, Etc. Paying for bloated professor salaries and the so-called research University status.
Look at the cost of going to a decent University in 1978, and then look at the same University today. Back then it was literally possible to do it on a pay-as-you-go system.
Today $30,000 University per annum is commonplace, 50,000 is not very rare. So to pay their way through school on a pay-as-you-go basis, a student would need some 50 or $60,000 a year job to pay the tuition, and live.
Of course, there are educational Alternatives out there. But I would easily say 80% of American universities are priced so high that it’s not possible for somebody out of high school to Simply obtain a job and do it on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The biggest driver of this increase of cost is making student loan debt non-dischargeable in bankruptcy, and the federal government taking over all student loans. This ensured that the universities could charge anything they wanted, the banks could loan it out knowing it could not be discharged in bankruptcy, so there is no Force out there that exerts a downward pressure on prices. Universities have no incentive to do so, and thanks incur no risk for making these loans tell the girls studying lesbian basket weaving who will emerge to find no jobs waiting.
The way to fix it is for the federal government to get out of the Federal Loan guarantee in business and turn those over to the private sector. And make them dischargeable in a bankruptcy. Then free market lenders would only give loans to people who had a reasonable chance to pay them back with the degree they were getting, and universities would need to lower prices to attract students willing to take on those loans.
Looking at this list of affordable colleges , I can see the ability to make ends meet has changed considerably.
There could also be a greater prestige placed on the name of the school which I think gives the school a bit of a license to steal.
Lots of truth in your statements.
There are two successful alternative models in effect right now (not counting the unusal universities where tuition is free or given in exchange for hard work, military obligation, etc.):
“Cost of University education has nearly tripled relative to the economy.”
Price, for some, “of University education has nearly tripled relative to the economy.”
There are lots of kids that pay less than your kid would.
Who gets to pay $0?
Can you say “underprivileged”?
Don’t be making sensible statements now.