what do you think about the way college tuitions keep increasing out of control

[noviapriani]

For example, when I left, which is about 10 years ago, my school was about 27k/year. Now it's close to 37k. And my school is nowhere near the top schools. Employment compensation (at least in my field) hardly increased.
No wonder students are running into trouble with student loans everywhere.

[DrG]

Well somebody is making some nice profits.  Must be nice to have tenure, a big comfy chair from which to ponder which Keurig flavor to brew while reading the NY Times as your TA teaches the class 

Nobody in the media will call it out as the scam that it is.

[Rigon]

Like most liberal causes, it is a myth. Neither the cost of college nor student loan burdens are increasing beyond inflation.

[noviapriani]

Like most liberal causes, it is a myth. Neither the cost of college nor student loan burdens are increasing beyond inflation.

Liberal cause? Lol you are so fixated on politicizing every issue that you find political motivation in everything. I would say the hardest hit demographic is middle class or upper middle class, most of whom would vote republican.
You can bury your head as deep in the sand as you want, but the truth is tuition is on the rise everywhere. And the only people that can afford t hem are either the rich kids or the poor kids on aids and scholarships

[noviapriani]

The real question is why tuition and costs go up so much. Find the underlying reason. Teachers at Universities have not had their salaries go up that much. Other costs like maintenance and utilities have not gone up that much. So WHY is it costing so much more?

Those are the areas that need to be controlled.

[Rigon]

The real question is why tuition and costs go up so much. Find the underlying reason. Teachers at Universities have not had their salaries go up that much. Other costs like maintenance and utilities have not gone up that much. So WHY is it costing so much more?

Those are the areas that need to be controlled.

While I do not agree with you that there is a macro problem with college costs or student loan costs, to the extent you believe there is a problem, you are looking at the wrong cause. The cause, like with healthcare, is the way it is funded--completely divorced from real market forces.

[noviapriani]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/upshot/how-the-government-exaggerates-the-cost-of-college.html?_r=0
How the Government Exaggerates the Cost of College

* * *

But it turns out the government’s measure is deeply misleading.

For years, that measure was based on the list prices that colleges published in their brochures, rather than the actual amount students and their families paid. The government ignored financial-aid grants. Effectively, the measure tracked the price of college for rich families, many of whom were not eligible for scholarships, but exaggerated the price – and price increases – for everyone from the upper middle class to the poor.

* * *

Taking into account financial aid — some of which comes from the colleges themselves, some of which comes from the government — the average tuition and fees were $12,460 at private colleges last year and $3,120 for in-state students at public four-year colleges, according to the College Board. At those prices, college is an investment with an excellent return for the vast majority of students who graduate.

* * *

Fortunately, the government isn’t the only organization that collects data on college tuition over time. The College Board also does, and it publishes different indexes on published tuition and net-price tuition, separately for public and private colleges. (Only scholarship grants are considered in the net-price calculation. Loans, appropriately, are treated as part of the tuition that families are really paying.)

Net tuition and fees at private four-year colleges have risen 22 percent since 1992, the College Board says, and the increase has been 60 percent at public four-year colleges. Community-college tuition has declined, because aid grants have outpaced published tuition. These numbers are obviously quite different from the government’s index showing a 107 percent increase.

[Mike Christ]

The real question is why tuition and costs go up so much. Find the underlying reason. Teachers at Universities have not had their salaries go up that much. Other costs like maintenance and utilities have not gone up that much. So WHY is it costing so much more?

Those are the areas that need to be controlled.

As I understand it, colleges have a hold on job acquisition (can't get a managerial position in many places without a college degree, no matter how intelligent or experienced you are; however, I'm not sure why they do, investigating this would reveal a lot about how colleges maintain such high tuition whilst offering minimal quality of education), and they get grants from the gov which they spend on things they can't afford like new buildings and statues and offices etc., both of which contribute to hikes in tuition.  Colleges must also adhere to a government standard in order to issue degrees that are acknowledged as legitimate (which is why there's so many problems transferring credits and whatnot, even between high schools for that matter not to mention universities); this makes it difficult for colleges to form to compete in the first place (why have two colleges in the same area doing the exact same thing?--i.e. lack of diversity), but also eliminates any competition that decides to not adhere to such a standard (since the degree you'll earn there is worth even less than the piece of paper you'll get from an approved college.)  IIRC, college a few decades ago was 1/4th the cost it is today, which means the cost of it is indeed outpacing inflation.

All these combined make colleges more expensive.  It is not a coincidence; there is a correlation between breadth of government reach and the price & quality of all that it touches (which, if you investigate further, you'll find is true nearly 100% of the time for everything else, incl. but not limited to healthcare, food, insurance, and so forth.)  It's not out of control, it's on a planned increase; colleges who are willing to "put out" enjoy the hike in tuition due to government intervention, of course, but it's a shame they're not worth attending anymore.  The local college in my area, UTA, is a pure shithole, which I understood upon my visiting there, having spoken with friends who attended, and of reviews on the web (I recall one commenter saying it was more akin to a system, where they get you in, take your money, and don't care what happens after); the only one that might be worth attending is far out of my price range and a two hour drive to boot.  I'll pass on college We got the internet, who needs it anymore but the foolish.

[unpure]

There can be only so many managers in a company. And the low paying jobs are being occupied by immigrant or illegal immigrant. What other option is left for the rest of the population?

[dKingston]

In a capitalist state the real power is wielded by the 1% elite. The politicians is simply their pawns. The elite can dictate what they want, they control almost everything.

[Chef Ramsay]

The driving force behind rising collegiate prices is the government guarantee of student loans. There's no free market mechanism determining who's worth the risk of the loans, what degree programs should have a cap on loans since they won't pay off or the market doesn't need those careers outside of a few and there's no incentives to cut costs/personnel/infrastructure.

At big universities w/ all their endowments, there should never be a need to ever increase tuition but that stuff is largely used beef up the accommodations to entice better athletes and the like to come there. And since these U's already have the name going for it, every tom, dick and harry want to come there so there isn't any shortage on demand and thus even in a market situation a rising price isn't much of a deterrent of entry. Those graduates (w/ loans), via alumni and university programs that place jobs, have the ability to pay off so it's no big deal.

At average colleges and universities where middle class kids by and large go, this is where the student loans more so come into play and these are the bulk of the collegiate schools that are passing out diplomas and the holders less than 50% of finding employment in their field. 6 months go by and now loan payments start up but these kids mostly have no experience but just a piece of paper that isn't really in demand for the current employment market as it was 10 years ago. We all know that most of the jobs 'coming back' are seasonal, part time and/or minimum wage. This is the likely starting platform for many of 50% that couldn't find field jobs and they reside at their parent's houses or continue their college rental setups w/ friends but it's hard to pay loans when you're in a setup like that. From there, very few w/o connections can make it into something of an upwardly mobile position unless something changes drastically in the job market. Then, less people are getting married/having kids or are putting it off for 5-10 years or more. Then there's that many less people being financially able to purchase the Baby Boomers' houses allowing them a stake for retirement if they can even consider it. I could go on but it's maddening.

[noviapriani]

I went to the University of Iowa 1977-1981. I ended up with only $2500 in student loans to pay back for my BGS degree. Tuition, room and board were only about $1000 a semester and I did get some grant aid that paid about 40% of it. My parents college fund for me paid the rest.

Now in most schools that $8000 in total cost would not even make it one semester.

2013-2014 RESIDENT school year costs at the U of I:$20,691 (From the U of I website)

this includes everything: dorm, meals, books, tuition, everything

http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/...rsity-of-iowa/
this site says $18,525 for RESIDENT


There is no way in the world expenses should have gone up that much since then.

[DrG]

A water main burst at UCLA yesterday and flooded Pauley Pavillion, parking structures and closed down Sunset Blvd - for the 30 minutes I watched the report they reported about 9 times that it would interfere with basketball, volleyball and they expressed great concern about not ruining the athletic field for football practice.

30 minutes, 21 people taking in 9 clips about sports - not one person mentioned anything about classes or academics.

Look at this article in USA today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2014/07/29/ucla-flooding-pauley-pavilion-water-main-breaks/13341019/

search for the word "class" and your will get no hit.

Tuition = money to "buy" better NCAA "stars".

I think that pretty much sums up academia in the US.

[zolace]

I went to the University of Iowa 1977-1981. I ended up with only $2500 in student loans to pay back for my BGS degree. Tuition, room and board were only about $1000 a semester and I did get some grant aid that paid about 40% of it. My parents college fund for me paid the rest.

Now in most schools that $8000 in total cost would not even make it one semester.

2013-2014 RESIDENT school year costs at the U of I:$20,691 (From the U of I website)

this includes everything: dorm, meals, books, tuition, everything

http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/...rsity-of-iowa/
this site says $18,525 for RESIDENT


There is no way in the world expenses should have gone up that much since then.

They went that much because the government started giving stupid cheap loans to anybody who wanted one. That meant colleges could raise tuition and people could get loans to pay them, so NOT raising tuition meant leaving money on the table.

[sana8410]

Meanwhile the government also made it impossible to avoid paying back student loans. Persons with student loan debt are treated just as bad as deadbeat fathers in terms of how they're punished for their debt and their ability to get out from under their debt.

[Rigon]

Corporations are specifically designed be liability shields. That's the primary reason they exist as a legal institution.


But like I said, you're missing the point. The point being made here was that people can normally file for bankruptcy (just like a corporation), but student loan debt is immune from bankruptcy (which is why I compared it to child support).

[zolace]

the change in the law that makes it almost impossible to discharge student loan gave private lenders more incentive to throw money at student regardless of their earning or even employment potential. thus, everyone can now "afford" college. the vicious circle starts as a result, more people can afford college -> more people want to obtain a college education regardless of whether they need it or not (art history? "blah blah blah" studies?!)-> college education becomes more popular -> schools increase tuition -> more student loans are needed, and at the same time lenders wont hesitate to lend -> more people can afford college -> ...

[noviapriani]

Corporations are specifically designed be liability shields. That's the primary reason they exist as a legal institution.


But like I said, you're missing the point. The point being made here was that people can normally file for bankruptcy (just like a corporation), but student loan debt is immune from bankruptcy (which is why I compared it to child support).

Corporations are liability shields and the sky is blue. How does that keep the corporation, in se, from paying its debts?

As for bankruptcy, student loan debt is not immune (child support is though), it is just subject to a higher standard for discharge. Regardless, corporations do not owe child support or student loans, so there is no point to get because it's a pointless comparison. It is much harder and more expensive, though, for a corporation to get a discharge in bankruptcy than it is for an individual.

[zolace]

bachelor degrees are like dime a dozen these days, and people with the degree can't find jobs, even in fields where they keep predicting "there won't be enough workers in industry XYZ in so many years". the reason is because although they need people, these companies only hire the top, let's say 40% - and that is a very generous number - of their job applicants at any given time, yet college students keep graduating every 6 to 12 months. so the other 60% keep piling up years after years

[Rigon]

on one hand, making it hard for borrowers to avoid paying back the loan is a good move to curb the student loan bubble. but at the same time the government didn't put any similar constraint on the lenders.
it is understandable that once you've obtained an education, unlike a house or a car, they can't foreclose or repossess it. so you need to pay them that money back. but what about the lenders? they ultimately approve and directly benefit from any investments, yet there's virtually no risk for them in case the student loan investment turns out to be bad.