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Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

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Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#51

Post by kragen »

aaomidi wrote: post #47
etempleton wrote: post #43

Double edged sword. What the author proposes can be found. Go to some small low endowment private or public school for less money. Oh wait, you say, I don’t want to go there! The buildings aren’t as nice, the dorms are cramped and drab, there aren’t as many resources, the food sucks, the Wi-Fi is spotty, heck even the website sucks. Why is this? Because they don’t have the human or financial resources to do so. You g…

Then why is this only mainly a US problem?

Student loans make tuition-payers cost-insensitive.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#52

Post by legitster »

I think this relationship might be a bit backwards.

Easy credit made it so demand for degrees outstripped capacity. Schools raised prices to meter demand. At these increased prices, schools felt compelled to invest in programs and administration.

Also, as I understand it, the accreditation process is pretty broken in the country. Whatever the top programs are doing becomes the benchmark for everyone else to match. So it's a never ending treadmill to keep up.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#53

Post by BobbyJo »

D13Fd wrote: post #44

I think the article misses the root cause here. Drastically increased availability of loan-based financial aid means far more more money in the system, which means the prices go up. The article nails the cause of more administrators--the schools have more money to spend and need to spend it--but completely misses the reason schools are able to charge so much more these days.

> which means the prices go up.

Yeah, but you're ignoring the mechanics of that happening.

> completely misses the reason schools are able to charge so much more these days.

I don't think it misses it. I think it just ignores it as a matter of practicality. It would take an act of god to get money removed from the system, but there is a very real chance he could cut some cost and bloat from single, incredibly influential, school.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#54

Post by landemva »

ryan93 wrote: post #48
landemva wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> everyone would prefer cheaper education with the exception of college administrators. And the banksters who make the student loans which are difficult to discharge in bankruptcy. The price ramp started after the no bankruptcy provision was made law. https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/28362... Simply repeal this law which was a gift to the banksters in the 1990s.

You must not be familiar with the American system.

I almost put "simply" in italics for you. Getting this through the lobbyists would be challenging. Letting us vote is just for show because the lobbyists have the access.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#55

Post by bell-cot »

etempleton wrote: post #43

Double edged sword. What the author proposes can be found. Go to some small low endowment private or public school for less money. Oh wait, you say, I don’t want to go there! The buildings aren’t as nice, the dorms are cramped and drab, there aren’t as many resources, the food sucks, the Wi-Fi is spotty, heck even the website sucks. Why is this? Because they don’t have the human or financial resources to do so. You g…

> You get what you pay for.

Yes - loudly signalling that the parents can blow $100K/year on an exclusive country club-cum-college for their kids, and never miss it.

Treatment #1 - Immediately start treating the $$$$$$-no-object "colleges" as for-profit luxury resort corporations. Donations NOT deductible, fully subject to property taxes, zero state/federal money for anything, rights to have their own police forces yanked, subject to all SEC regulations, degree-granting powers revoked, etc., etc.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#56

Post by graeme »

md_ wrote: post #38

There are compelling alternative explanations for the rising cost of education ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumol%27s_cost_disease#Educ... ). If the underlying cause were primarily administrative overhead, that should be readily apparent in the (public) budget of any public university. I’m not going to go do Silvergate’s research for him, but I’m surprised he doesn’t cite such a readily available piece of compe…

The admin staff are also subject to Baumol's cost disease.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#57

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

etempleton wrote: post #43

Double edged sword. What the author proposes can be found. Go to some small low endowment private or public school for less money. Oh wait, you say, I don’t want to go there! The buildings aren’t as nice, the dorms are cramped and drab, there aren’t as many resources, the food sucks, the Wi-Fi is spotty, heck even the website sucks. Why is this? Because they don’t have the human or financial resources to do so. You g…

> If people were price sensitive cheap schools would have people busting down the doors to get in.

I think government backed so urgent loans are a big reason why people are not price sensitive.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#58

Post by rayiner »

etempleton wrote: post #43

Double edged sword. What the author proposes can be found. Go to some small low endowment private or public school for less money. Oh wait, you say, I don’t want to go there! The buildings aren’t as nice, the dorms are cramped and drab, there aren’t as many resources, the food sucks, the Wi-Fi is spotty, heck even the website sucks. Why is this? Because they don’t have the human or financial resources to do so. You g…

Even American community colleges having amazing facilities compared to schools in Europe. It’s a luxury product.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#59

Post by etempleton »

aaomidi wrote: post #47
etempleton wrote: post #43

Double edged sword. What the author proposes can be found. Go to some small low endowment private or public school for less money. Oh wait, you say, I don’t want to go there! The buildings aren’t as nice, the dorms are cramped and drab, there aren’t as many resources, the food sucks, the Wi-Fi is spotty, heck even the website sucks. Why is this? Because they don’t have the human or financial resources to do so. You g…

Then why is this only mainly a US problem?

Student loans are easily secured and, relative to the size of the loans, cheap money.

Re: Bloated college administration is making education unaffordable

#60

Post by etempleton »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #57
etempleton wrote: post #43

Double edged sword. What the author proposes can be found. Go to some small low endowment private or public school for less money. Oh wait, you say, I don’t want to go there! The buildings aren’t as nice, the dorms are cramped and drab, there aren’t as many resources, the food sucks, the Wi-Fi is spotty, heck even the website sucks. Why is this? Because they don’t have the human or financial resources to do so. You g…

> If people were price sensitive cheap schools would have people busting down the doors to get in. I think government backed so urgent loans are a big reason why people are not price sensitive.

This is very much the case. Consumers are not price sensitive in the US and therefore quality of experience is valued over price. Colleges and universities responded predictably. Not by some grand scheme or even consciously, more so organically.
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