2/28/2005

Rising cost of Education

I recently read an article about the rising costs of tuition at four year colleges and universities, in this article it said that on the average that tuition increased by 10% from last year to this year. It also said that tuition has increased 51% over the last decade. I for one am having a hard time with the high prices of tuition and books, I went to school many years ago and have recently returned, and the first time I went to school I was able to cover the cost of tuition and books with a pell grant, but now a grant barely covers the cost of tuition. I have been forced to borrow more and more money to cover the rising costs of getting an education so I am hoping that it is really worth it in the long run.

1 comment:

Dr. Tufte said...

Trust me on this - completing a college degree is an enormously good investment (even if you are not a comparison shopper, go to a bad and expensive private school, and borrow on your credit card to do it).

Bart is not alone in this sentiment, but I always find it odd that students don't often realize that state schools are offering a college education at something like 75% off the list price. Yes it's expensive, but if there was a $40K car out there marked down to $10K, I don't think people would complain as much about buying it. College enrollments hit record numbers year after year, and yet people don't put those together. Hmmm.

The economics of this are pretty simple. Prices rise either because supply shifts to the left, or demand shifts to the right. If it is the former, there will be less stuff sold, while if it is the latter there will be more stuff sold. Since colleges are full and enrollments are rising steadily, this points to a demand shift driving up the marginal cost (and price) of education. So, people recognize that college education is a good value for the price, and are buying enough of it to congest the system a bit (if you're not sure about that, recall that most flagship state universities are offering a lot more deferred admissions to freshman).

Diane ... come now ... we teach here because we love you guys ;)> and the time off ... and the great students ... and the pleasant work environment ... and the great students ... and the job security ... and the great students