I have begun some research and thought I would start with college prices and how they relate now compared to the past. The first article I found in my research is called, "What's the Price Tag for a College Education?" by COLLEGEdata. They break down average college prices for various expenses related to a college education as reported by the College Board for the 2016-2017 academic year. They explain how college tuition varies depending on the college, major, if they are public or private and whether or not you are paying in-state or out of state tuition. They state that the College Board has reported an average college tuition, with school fees, for the 2016-2017 academic year was $9,650 for a public college and $33,480 for a private college. They go on to explain all of the other expenses that students have to account for like housing, meals, books, supplies, transportation and other misc. expenses not included in the school fees.
These prices are for one single year of tuition and fees in 2016-2017. I appreciate how they break it apart from private schools to public schools as they vary greatly. This year, for a public university, the average student will pay nearly $10,000 with out any financial assistance. That is outrageous! If the price stayed the same for 4 years, that is an average 4 year degree for just under $40,000, just for tuition and fees. If you were looking at a private school that is easily triple the cost and if you needed more than 4 years it goes up even more. To think about a student paying for this with student loans makes it seem even worse as loans typically account for more than just tuition and school fees. Add on interest and it makes it even more expensive.
To the right is a video by Learn Liberty that explains why tuition is constantly on the rise and how the financial aid we are receiving could potentially be apart of what is causing costs to rise so much.
The next source I chose has a table of different academic years dating back to 1980-1981, and the average cost of tuition for those given years up until 2014-2015. This table was constructed by "Statistics Brain," who research and report on many different types of statistics. Their sources for this particular set of data is the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. This table shows the, "total tuition, room and board rates charged for full time undergraduate students in degree-granting institutions for 1 year of college."
As this table shows, in 1980-81 all public, 4-year institutions, averaged $2,550 a year for tuition room and board. In 2000-01 those same institution's average went up to $8,653. 2 years ago in the 2014-2015 year, the average was all the way up to $16,482 for one year. If you compare the rate at which a 4 year degree would increase, from 1990 to 2000 and then from 2000 to 2010, it doubles from one decade to the next. In between 1990 and 2000 there is a $1,364 growth and then from 2000 to 2010 there is a $2,906 growth. Easily doubling the growth from the previous decade. In 1980-81 4 years at $2,550 is only $10,200 which is $6,282 less than 1 single year in 2014-15 costs. Another outrageous statistic. This cost includes more than just tuition and fees as it mentions it includes room and board rates as well. I wonder if the average incomes increase this much throughout this same time period.
Excellent post Dillon. The amount that average tuition costs have increased, when compared to inflation, is indeed interesting, and sometimes depressing. There are many things though that are important to keep in mind, some of which can help put the rise in costs in perspective. As we become a more technologically advanced society, the number of jobs that require higher and higher levels of education will only increase, and with it, the ultimate value of a college education will rise as well. I dont recall if you posted it in one of your prior posts, but there are dollar figures that can be attached to the marginal benefit a college education over a lifetime. Usually that figure is far larger than the increased cost of tuition. I think it's also important to keep in mind some of the leading factors in the rise of college education costs, including the introduction of federal subsidies, the market structure for higher education (partly an oligopoly, partly monopolistic competition), and the introduction of for-profit universities into the marketplace. I do agree with the assessment that tuition costs have gotten somewhat absurd. A year at CU Boulder costs over $25,000 once room and board are figured into the equation.
ReplyDeleteDillon,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really liked that you packed this post full on statistics. I think this made it really easy for the reader to get a good grasp on how large this issue is. The statistics you presented are a real bummer for students, but it’s really important for us to look at. I loved the video that you posted, really informative. It’s interesting that some of the programs that are designed to help students actually end up raising the cost of tuition. I guess when you actually think about the basic economics presented in the video, the raising of tuition makes so much sense. College is a business after all, a business that kind of takes advantage of its customers. I’m glad that you’re going to touch on increases in income, this is what I was wondering throughout your post. Once again, great post and I’m excited to read more.
Hey Dillon,
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing that I found interesting about this is how much more expensive private school is than public school. This makes me wonder what would make someone want to go to a private school instead of a public school. Is the education better at a private school, or does the private school have more of an education that draws people in? Would you say people think that they are getting a better education at a private school because it is more expensive? I agree with the fact that college tuition is rising at a ridiculous rate.