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High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

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Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#31

Post by jimmaswell »

thereddaikon wrote: post #4
missedthecue wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are municipal resource colleges. They're called community colleges. They are extremely affordable. Very few people want to go there.

few people want to go there because the bit of paper you get at the end is the value and those a worth less than the bits of paper you get from other universities.

I went to one for an associate's, followed by transferring my credits to a state university for two more years for a bachelor's. Got an internship out of it, found my first good programming job within half a year, worked up to six figures remote a few years later. Seems like you get what you put into it and "prestige" isn't necessary at all just to have a good career.

Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#32

Post by balefrost »

judge2020 wrote: post #8
thereddaikon wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

few people want to go there because the bit of paper you get at the end is the value and those a worth less than the bits of paper you get from other universities.

Plus, usually they don't offer anything more than an associate's degree. Can't remember the last time I saw anything less than "bachelor's degree or equivalent experience" on a job listing.

One strategy is to go to community college for your gen ed requirements, transfer those credits to a more prestigious university, then finish your degree there. The piece of paper will have the university's name on it, but you will have saved money in the process.

You have to do some due diligence to figure out what credits you can transfer. You don't want to waste your time and money on a class that doesn't count. But I know of some people who did this.

Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#33

Post by willcipriano »

thehappypm wrote: post #23
willcipriano wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that degree holders go on to make wages much higher than those without, is it really fair that those without subsidize the education expenses of people who will go on to out earn them? Especially given how vanishingly little of it goes to actual education and instead administration and sporting programs.

It’s a societal good as a whole, so yes, societies should invest in them. Example: not everyone becomes a doctor. But society needs doctors. Having affordable pre-med college programs benefits everyone, even though only doctors directly make income from the program.

How about in exchange we cap their rate of pay so that society as a whole can benefit from their affordable services?

Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#34

Post by bitexploder »

thereddaikon wrote: post #4
missedthecue wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are municipal resource colleges. They're called community colleges. They are extremely affordable. Very few people want to go there.

few people want to go there because the bit of paper you get at the end is the value and those a worth less than the bits of paper you get from other universities.

A big part of the value is you can take core classes very inexpensively and then transfer to a more expensive same state university. Not an option for everyone, but it really saves a lot of $$ for those that can make it work. Most two year degrees that don’t focus on a trade of some sort are mostly of dubious value on their own, though.

Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#35

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

sorenn111 wrote: post #19

I think the cultural stance in the U.S. that to progress in life/elevate oneself/stigma against forgoing college is also a large part of it. I personally think that one policy that could have an outsized effect in solving this problem is establishing a max percentage of income that student loan repayment can be required to be for a maximum number of years (I'm pulling these numbers out of nowhere but just as an examp…

If you let students default on debt - most of the problems get solved.

Creditors are going to make risk-free high-interest loans. As long as the loans are available - students will take them to get their underwater basket weaving degrees.

If students could default on debt - then there wouldn't be an endless supply of creditors willing to lend them money to get degrees they know won't pay enough money to pay them back.

Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#36

Post by chongli »

lizknope wrote: post #10

So where is the money going? If the price of something is increasing faster than inflation then I expect something in return for the extra money I am paying like a bigger house, faster computer, whatever. I went to college in the 1990's. Are college students getting a better education or experience for all the extra money they are paying? I've seen my university's new classrooms, student center, library, dorms, etc.…

The money is going into a bottomless pit of administrative and bureaucratic overhead. Universities are caught up in a zero-sum competition for the top students (and athletes). To attract these students they invest in massive infrastructure projects (new buildings and renovations), often with the support of earmarked donations from wealthy alumni. These new facilities must then be staffed with administrators and maintenance workers. Along with the new facilities come new departments and schools of X and Y which also need their own administration.

The short answer is: administrative bloat. That's where all the money is going. Universities employ far more non-teaching staff than ever before. A large bulk of this staff is essentially dedicated to marketing the university to prospective students, a zero-sum competition with other universities.

One of the big problems is that wealthy donors love to earmark their donations for big projects that carry their name. It's way less sexy to donate a bunch of no-strings-attached money that the school can use to pay salaries and keep tuition down. For donors who actually want to help future students, the usual route is named scholarships. But then, of course, scholarships also require admin staff to oversee them. And schools can have thousands of these scholarships.

Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#37

Post by woopwoop »

I feel like this article doesn't support it's thesis at all. Why does the government lending directly result in less downward price pressure than guaranteeing loans? The only hypothesis I can imagine is that people anticipated something like student loan forgiveness, but that requires more evidence than what is given here (after all the government could in theory waive private loans and reimburse the lender).

Re: High tuition costs mostly stem from the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1993

#39

Post by chadash »

I did a semester overseas at a top tier public university in Australia. There were some very notable differences about what is included with university there. Your tuition basically covers the academics, but that is it. No free gym (but the gym was relatively cheap... I guess they provide it at cost or at least don't make much profit). No included meal plan (but again, subsidized). Far fewer student activities. And you know what? The education, which is far and away the most important thing, was just fine... If I were paying Australian tuition prices, the added cost of a gym membership seems like nothing by comparison.

There's a whole lot of bloat in our college experience. I personally loved all the stuff that was included with my tuition. But you know what I don't love? That college is our society's key to upward mobility, but instead it creates crushing debt for many, because it includes lots of unnecessary stuff.

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