Why IS College so expensive?

[Cecilie1200]

Keep in mind, a Full professor making more than the median figure is probably funding a decent amount of his paycheck with grant money. That means that tuition money isn't going towards the higher end paychecks.

Grant money or not, half to two-thirds of a typical college's budget is still going to instructional salaries.

That I won't debate. I know the last 2.5 years of budget cuts saw our University trim operation costs right down to the bone in order to avoid laying off teaching positions. We cut administrative jobs, upkeep, lab upkeep, etc. We closed buildings in the summer that weren't in use (which did a lot of damage to the environmental controls), instituted mandatory unpaid overloads, etc.

Net result: The college budget is now well past 70% salaries.

I'm just pointing out: Before folks try to make the argument that student tuition money is going to pay high end salaries, they should actually check to see if that is true. I know that at many insitutions there isn't an ice cube's chance in hell that you're getting a high end salary without bringing in a boat load of grant money to offset that. This is often part of the grant proposal as the professor will want to "buy out" his teaching time in order to focus on the research being funded.

I didn't say anything about high-end. Nor, contrary to some people's perceptions, did I necessarily say any of these things are bad or negative.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Because they know that these days it's almost necessary to have a college degree (not everybody is an entrepreneur, in case someone wanted to respond with that), so it's easy to raise tuition knowing that students will still pay it.

That's like saying housing prices went up because people needed homes and paid more.

The truth of the matter is that we've had a higher education "bubble" fueled by government backed easy credit. The cost of education has risen far higher than what is justified by demand and inflation.

The Elite declared that everyone Had The Right To A College Education, regardless of merit or suitability of career objectives (much like government declared everyone had a Right To Own A Home - that worked out real well).

Colleges colluded in this mess by staffing up with financial aid counselors who advised clueless liberal art students to take on tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, which conveniently could not be discharged via bankruptcy proceedings - for degrees with little economic value.

It was a big con that is now exploding.

The End.

I may disagree with the finer points, but I think we agree that too many kids are being advised to go to college.

You can still have a nice life without a college degree, and college just isn't for everyone. It requires a certain level of focus and preparation that some people just aren't interested in or capable of following through with.

I want to see a college degree be available to anyone willing to put in the work, but I'm finding some kids are going to college so they can "hit the snooze button" on post high school life. That's a formula for disaster and a waste of their time and money.

My husband was sent to college by his parents right after high school. I, on the other hand, had to wait until later in life and pay out of my own pocket. Joe nearly flunked out his first year, and his grades were never more than slightly above average. I carried a 4.0 GPA throughout.

I've told my children that if they want to continue their educations, whether it be college or trade school - and they certainly should - they will be paying for it themselves. It's the only way I can think of to get them to take the experience seriously. My son is 14 now and contemplating which branch of the military he wants to join.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

My husband was sent to college by his parents right after high school. I, on the other hand, had to wait until later in life and pay out of my own pocket. Joe nearly flunked out his first year, and his grades were never more than slightly above average. I carried a 4.0 GPA throughout.

I've told my children that if they want to continue their educations, whether it be college or trade school - and they certainly should - they will be paying for it themselves. It's the only way I can think of to get them to take the experience seriously. My son is 14 now and contemplating which branch of the military he wants to join.

I had an academic scholarship and went straight through. Worked out fine for me.

My brother had a scholarship and dropped out in a semester. He's doing fine now, and really doesn't need a college degree.

My youngest brother skipped it altogether, owns his own house, and has a job that lets him provide for his family. He's going back now to get credentials for a job he pretty much knows how to do and he's kicking tail in his classes.

It isn't for everyone. And it definitely isn't for everyone straight out of high school. Understand, I have a vested interest in having students in my class, but I'd rather they take the courses when ready and succeed than waste their money and my time.

 

[topspin]

as stated supply and demand.
Why is demand so high?
Because the average degreed person earns 2.5 million more over a career, untill that shrinks dramatically college cost increases will top inflation.

 

[jillian]

1) Half to two-thirds of the typical colleges budget goes to paying instructional salaries. So rising paychecks are indeed a factor in higher college costs.

The median salary for a full-time college educator is $46,300, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The picture is brighter for those who have tenure: Full professors make an average $76,200, according to the American Association of University Professors.

The tenure system and the lack of mandatory retirement can make it tough to oust high-earning but less productive employees.

and yet, the salaries you list are barely middle class, certainly less than one makes in the private sector and increasingly not high enough to lure accomplished people into academia. I think you'll find the larger salaries are paid to marquis professors with famous names who teach few classes but lure donations and students.

2) Colleges that want good rankings with U.S. News & World Reports annual college rankings and other college-rating programs shell out big bucks on ubiquitous high-speed Internet access, bigger and better dining facilities, new gyms and concert halls, apartments instead of dorms for students.

i don't know about the apartments and concert halls, but certainly one would think high speed internet is mandatory in a world where professors are increasingly sending out their assignments by email and having their students download materials.

While a lot of this spending is funded by endowments, a lot of it isn't.[true].

3) One factor that keeps inflation muted in the private sector is worker productivity. Technology, equipment and experience tend to help the average worker make widgets faster over time. That growing productivity allows a business to create more products for the same cost.

But colleges arent in the business of making widgets. Those that try to force greater productivity out of their professors -- by increasing class sizes or class loads -- often find their strategies backfire. The best instructors leave for better environments, and the colleges reputations suffer among students and the ranking services that gauge university quality.

the reality, as well, is that better schools are actually LESS efficient because there are fewer students in each class and greater student/professor ratios.

Theres actually pressure for colleges to be less productive: to shrink class sizes and reduce class loads so professors can spend more time doing research.

oops... i wrote the above before i saw that, but obviously i agree.

4) Scholarships, grants and loans reduce the out-of-pocket cost for the majority of students. (Loans just put off the pain, of course, but few students really think about how much the borrowing is going to cost them in the long run.)

As weve seen with the health-care system, if people arent feeling the real cost of their purchases, they have less incentive to change their behavior. If youre paying the full tab and Elite University jacks up its rates 10%, you might opt for Just Fine State. If enough others followed your lead, Elite might rethink its pricing.

As it stands, however, Elite just needs to boost your financial aid package by 8% or so, and you'll grumble but stay put.

there will always be enough rich kids to afford the top schools. and that might be the one part of the equation missing from your analysis...

sometimes things are priced higher to prevent social mobility. i don't know if that is intentional or just a by-product.

additionally, the increase in the percentages of women attending college skyrocketed incredibly. that made competition for existing seats much more intense and allowed increases in prices over the last twenty years that far exceed the rate of inflation.

5) For two decades ending in 1997, the number of college-age people actually declined. The percentage of this shrinking group that actually attended college, however, shot up: from 47% of high school graduates in 1973 to 65% in 1996. That meant the number of people attending college in the 1990s remained pretty stable.

Now the under-25 set is again on the rise. The number of college-age people is expected to grow from 17.5 million in 1997 to 21.2 million by 2010. The percentage actually attending college is bound to increase further, as fewer and fewer decent jobs remain for those with just a high school education.

you can't even get a job as a fedex delivery person without a college degree.

Meanwhile, the most selective schools havent expanded that much, even as the number of qualified applicants keeps rising. Thats why the SAT scores that would have gotten you into Harvard a decade ago might not get you accepted at your safety school today.

i went to the top state university in my state. i had good but not perfect high school grades and good, but not perfect, SAT grades. I would bet they wouldn't even look at me in that school today.

Many other schools have shelved expansion plans -- either because they are state schools with shrinking legislative appropriations or because their endowment funds and giving programs took a hit along with the economy. An economic rebound could reverse that trend, but right now the good colleges have far more applicants than theyve got room.

With that kind of demand, college and universities can continue to boost prices almost at will. (Thanks to MSNMoney)

all of that is true. but i don't know if any of what we have said completely states why the cost of a college degree is so far beyond the actual rate of inflation.... although it is probably most reflective of the supply/demand curve that my macro-economics professor was always so happy to discuss when i was in school.

 

[johnrocks]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIcfMMVcYZg]YouTube - How government programs drive up college tuitions[/ame]
How government programs drive up college tuitions

 

[Charles_Main]

You have to ask why it is so expensive. Over head. What over head. Tenured Union Professors that can not be fired.

 

[Trajan]

You have to ask why it is so expensive. Over head. What over head. Tenured Union Professors that can not be fired.

my son constantly complains he doesn't see his professors enough in the classroom.
Sometimes as little as 5-6 times a month, they have a grad student come in and give the lecture etc. on the rest of the class days.

 

[midcan5]

Simple, because it can't be outsourced, but the Internet may hold a key for less expensive education. Also education is status, it is a class institution, and the wealthy can afford the higher costs for the higher status. Our family went to public universities, and it is weird the conversations you hear about colleges. Google top schools and you get a sense of the differences. Also there are 'check colleges,' pay and you graduate. Education like so many things in America is tied to class and market.


"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." Einstein

 

[Dr.Traveler]

You have to ask why it is so expensive. Over head. What over head. Tenured Union Professors that can not be fired.

You clearly don't know how tenure works. I have quite a few colleagues that would be glad to know that they couldn't have been fired, especially now they have been.

Tenure guarantees you due process when being fired, it absolutely does not guarantee you won't be fired. Not only that, Tenure protections can be negated by a declaration of Financial Extingency (as some at Tulane found out after Katrina) or by program closure (as many professors all over the nation are finding out).

I've known plenty of people that took tenure for granted, stopped working at thier jobs, and ended up out on the streets.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

You have to ask why it is so expensive. Over head. What over head. Tenured Union Professors that can not be fired.

my son constantly complains he doesn't see his professors enough in the classroom.
Sometimes as little as 5-6 times a month, they have a grad student come in and give the lecture etc. on the rest of the class days.

He should go to a different college if he wants to have an actual professor at the front of the class.

I'm in front of my class every session they meet. No grad students here.

I'm guessing your son is at a large R1 research institute, like Duke, or U of I. Ask him to think critically about who is the better teacher: The professor or the grad student. You may realize that when a professor's primary goal is research that a grad student is the far better teacher.