Topic: what do you think about the way college tuitions keep increasing out of control - page 4. (Read 2683 times)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.