The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
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Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#2what they taught me in econ 1a:
1. limited supply (even when you count the fake for-profit schools)
2. increased demand (EVERYONE wants to go to college)
3. easy financing which increases 2. (student loans)
results in inflating prices.
not really sure what the mystery here is.
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#3One thing I've noticed about American universities compared with universities in other countries (Japan, Korea, UK), is that almost every decent American university I've seen seems to be really well-maintained, in that the campus is very clean, in good repair, frequently renovated, etc, even the out-of-the-public-eye spaces (grad student offices and the like).
Japanese and Korean universities, on the other hand, are often rather shabby, even the top-tier ones (Toudai etc). They're still perfectly fine places for the intended purpose, mind you, just maybe a little worn.
I dunno how much of a part money maintenance and construction play in university costs, but I imagine it's labor-intensive, and so not exactly cheap...
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#4The short version: "A major factor driving increasing costs is the constant expansion of university administration."
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#5It didn't make sense to me until I read this:
from the article:
"Some of this increased spending in education has been driven by a sharp rise in the percentage of Americans who go to college."
from the comments:
"The money PER STUDENT was slashed. That is what matters for the cost to each student."… "This is an elaborate lie, to justify what is indefensible without the help of such lies."
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#6what they taught me in econ 1a: 1. limited supply (even when you count the fake for-profit schools) 2. increased demand (EVERYONE wants to go to college) 3. easy financing which increases 2. (student loans) results in inflating prices. not really sure what the mystery here is.
The article is about state schools though.
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#7It didn't make sense to me until I read this: from the article: "Some of this increased spending in education has been driven by a sharp rise in the percentage of Americans who go to college." from the comments: "The money PER STUDENT was slashed. That is what matters for the cost to each student."… "This is an elaborate lie, to justify what is indefensible without the help of such lies."
Well the article disagrees with that claim, "Appropriations per student are much higher now than they were in the 1960s and 1970s, when tuition was a small fraction of what it is today." so I guess it would be time to go to the references/data if we had them.
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#8Part of it is also a social signaling factor. Because eduction is a superior good and a positional good, there's pressure for it to get ever more expensive (at least on paper). After all, if the Johnsons' kids are going to a $40,000/year school, you want to make sure your little darling goes to at least a $45,000/year school.
The secret is that many elite colleges give such generous financial aid that only the extremely wealthy are paying full freight. But it still makes the college looks good to have an astronomically high sticker price.
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#9what they taught me in econ 1a: 1. limited supply (even when you count the fake for-profit schools) 2. increased demand (EVERYONE wants to go to college) 3. easy financing which increases 2. (student loans) results in inflating prices. not really sure what the mystery here is.
The article is about state schools though.
uh, what part of my post doesn't apply to state schools?
Re: The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much
#10It didn't make sense to me until I read this: from the article: "Some of this increased spending in education has been driven by a sharp rise in the percentage of Americans who go to college." from the comments: "The money PER STUDENT was slashed. That is what matters for the cost to each student."… "This is an elaborate lie, to justify what is indefensible without the help of such lies."
This article seems to have gone out of its way to list a lot of aggregate numbers that increased while comparing it to per-student tuition.
Also, there could be more factors than just the increased percentage of people who go to college. The tuition increase could also include increased administrative costs or spending on extracurricular activities such sports. I know that when I was attending UC Davis, we saw an increase to pay for the new computer labs that were being installed.