Now, to the topic at hand. In an article entitled, "Who Can Still Afford State U?', published in the Wall Street Journal of December 15-16, 2012, Scott Thurm writes:
For generations of Americans, public colleges and universities
offered an affordable option for earning a college degree.
Now cash strapped states across the country are cutting
funding for colleges and directing scarce resources to
primary and secondary schooling, Medicaid and prisons.
That is shifting more of the cost of higher education
to students and their families.
Indeed, Thurm reports that, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, state subsidies for students at these institutions fell 21% per student between 2000 and 2011. During that time, tuition at the two and four year public colleges rose 45%. (All figures are adjusted for inflation.) Some state figures are even greater. Over the past decade state funding for the University of California system has fallen by 25% while the University of Michigan's state funding fell by 26%.
Beyond the decrease in public funding, many of the administrative costs at these facilities have risen dramatically. Teaching loads for tenured faculty have declined at many schools which adds to the cost.
Thurm reports that, according to the Department of Education, between 2001 and 2011 the number of "managers" at public colleges and universities grew 50% faster than the number of teachers. Also, "...schools have spent liberally on fancier dorms, dining halls and gyms to compete for students". As faculty shrunk, class sizes grew. Thurm says that in the fall of 2007, 50% of undergraduate classes had 20 or more students while in 2011, 61% did and more undergraduate classes have graduate students teaching them.
At wsj.com/PriceofAdmission, you can:
- Compare tuition increases at public colleges;
- Watch a video on why student loan debt has grown so much; and
- Watch an interview with the article's author.
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