Everyone talks about tuition – in-state, out-of-state, private school, public school. The sum of money warrants a conversation. When that sum of money is expected to increase, it justified even further conversation.
Rising tuition is nothing new. According to a Georgetown report, the average cost of tuition fees, room, and board for an undergraduate degree incased 169% between 1980 to 2020 [1]. According to the Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis, “costs of higher education rise at higher rates than national inflation rates [2].” Since tuition keeps building on itself year after year, it’s becoming more unattainable for certain demographics and is causing people to question the need for a degree in general.
As aforementioned, inflation is no friend to college students. Colleges have to pay more for room and board, staff, food, the list continues. But inflation isn’t the only enemy. Colleges are businesses. This means, just like any business, they want to make a profit. And businesses have competition. To make a bigger profit, they have to beat their competition. Colleges want the nicest campus, the best amenities, and the top educators which all come at a price. Additionally, as the college admission process increasingly becomes more competitive, more students are willing to pay a higher price for a top-rated school, giving these schools an advantage to raise tuition that can go unchecked [3].
The majority of the increase in tuition revenue is due to the lack of state funding. When states decrease funding, public universities face a budget gap, forcing them to find another source of revenue. Often, universities may have fixed costs like facilities, research, or important programs that are vital to their operations. Here, universities look to students in the form of increased tuition to address the shortfall. Along with the trend of decreasing state funding, is the trend of decreasing federal grant aid for higher education students. Pell grants, a need-based grant aimed at low-income students, funding has declined significantly since 2010 with both fewer recipients and lower maximum awards. This decline can be linked to inflation, as the “mandatory funding stream to allow the grant to grow with inflation [expired] in 2017 [4].” The government is more concerned about the social-political activities happening on campuses, rather than the existence of the institutions themselves.
The continual rise in tuition is going to have a detrimental impact on the student body attending colleges. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that rising tuition “may…reduce campus diversity [5].” Not only will diversity decrease on college campuses, but rising tuition will make college increasingly unattainable to low-income families and continue to widen the gap between low-income and high-income families. Lower-income students who rely on student loans will have the burden of paying off more debt, which could in turn decrease enrollment. Rising tuition would perpetuate the cycle, making it more difficult for POC and low-income individuals to access higher education and opportunities/jobs that come with a degree.
It is important to look at when colleges first started to lose their value. Between the 40’s and the 60’s, college was the road to wealth. This meant it gave those who attended college the opportunity to move from one economic status to another. This meant without a doubt, your college degree would pay off. However, around the 70’s this began to change. Wealth amassed after attending college wasn’t as significant or even distinguishable at all compared to high school graduates. Put plainly, “the financial math of attending college [wasn’t] working any longer [6].” Although college grads might be making more, which can be a common misconception behind a reason to attend college, the debt and opportunity cost lost in the process needs to be considered. Even for those who don’t have to worry about student debt, time is money, and four years of no income equals lost potential income.
This brings us to the question of whether college is worth it, a question forced to ask as it becomes increasingly expensive. This question takes on a lot: what degree, where you live, connections, what college, etc. Therefore, it's hard to answer it with a simple yes or no. The consensus still leans on the yes side, according to education writer Paul Tough from The New York Times, it is seen that bachelor's degrees provide greater job mobility and more education makes you more money [6]. However, recent grads are more likely to be unemployed than any other worker. This can be linked to college grads not wanting to work in industries that are facing labor shortages like restaurants and hotels and instead wanting to work in jobs with a surplus of staff, like media and tech. Due to these recent trends in labor demand, college grads are more likely to feel like their degree doesn’t match their job. This feeling is making college seem not worthy of their time, where they could have been making money, and money, which they could have saved [7].
Skepticism is growing with tuition. According to the Hill, college enrollment is expected to take a big hit in 2025. While there are many other factors playing into this drop, rising tuition is a big one. According to a 2023 Wall Street Journal-NORC poll, confidence in higher education fell to 36% among Americans [8]. The survey also found 56% of Americans don’t think a four-year degree is worth it [8]. The new question that arises is if enrollment decreases due to rising tuition, will tuition continue to rise due to the decrease in students paying.
So where are students going if they are not going to college? According to the YouScience national 2023 Post-Graduation Readiness Report, alternatives are starting to become more popular: “55% of respondents from the class of 2023 chose not to pursue a four-year college degree, opting for alternative routes instead [9].” Vocational school and trade school are both less expensive and more time efficient than attending college. Military guarantees a secure job, a common worry among recent college grads. Additionally taking specialized courses such as AI, IT, or software engineering leaves students with certificates in specialized areas in relevant job markets.
There are several factors that may have a mitigating effect on rising tuition and the perceived value of a college education. Government intervention in addressing student loan debt to make college more affordable could allow demand to remain steady. Additionally, the value of growing a network during college along with the development of interpersonal and critical thinking skills is an important overall factor in employability and satisfaction. It is hard to put a price tag on the intangible benefits beyond economics that are derived during a four-year college experience. The unknowns of how AI will shape the college and job landscape in the future is a looming subject that will undoubtedly have an impact on the relationship between rising tuition and the cost/benefit analysis of a college degree. Suffice to say, this overall subject is rife with complexities requiring a very detailed and thoughtful consideration when evaluating which college, or if any college for that matter, is worth the price of admission.
All content is the intellectual property of the Virginia Undergraduate Business Review.
REFERENCES
[1] McGurran, B. (2023). College tuition inflation: Compare the cost of college over time. Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/college-tuition-inflation/
[2] Hernandez, B., Hernandez, T., & Reinmann, M. (2024). Tuition hikes continue to outpace inflation, admin say financial aid rising concurrently. Yale Daily News, https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2024/03/01/tuition-hikes-continue-to-outpace-inflation-admin-say-financial-aid-rising-concurrently/
[3] Goodkind, N. (2023). Some colleges cost $95,000 per year, and they’re only getting more expensive. Here’s why. CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/16/investing/curious-consumer-college-cost/index.html
[4] Berman, J. (2024). Pell Grants are in trouble - threatening financial aid for low-income college students. Morningstar, https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20240312142/pell-grants-are-in-trouble-threatening-financial-aid-for-low-income-college-students
[5] Fredman, J. (2019). College tuition increases put diversity in higher education at risk, Report Says. National Association of Student Financial Aid, https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/19848/College_Tuition_Increases_Put_Diversity_in_Higher_Education_at_Risk_Report_Says
[6] Barbaro, M. (2023). Is college worth it? The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/podcasts/the-daily/is-college-worth-it.html?
[7] Bhattarai, A. (2023). New college grads are more likely to be unemployed in today’s job market. Washington Post,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/11/19/college-grads-unemployed-jobs/
[8] O’Connell-Domenach, A. (2024). College enrollment could take a big hit in 2025. Here’s Why. The Hill, https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/4398533-college-enrollment-could-take-a-big-hit-in-2025-heres-why/
[9] YouScience. (2023). National YouScience Survey discovers majority of 2023 graduates opting out of traditional four-year college route. YouScience, https://www.youscience.com/national-youscience-survey-discovers-majority-of-2023-graduates-opting-out-of-traditional-four-year-college-route/#:~:text=The%20report%20underscores%20a%20significant,transformation%20within%20the%20education%20landscape
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