I think Clyde and GetSlow made very good points . To build on that these are public universities, and as such part of the blame should be put on politicians both at that federal level and state level. There needs to be restrictions on where money can be spent if we are going to allow these loans. But it all comes back to these loans. The loans give the schools blank checks, the schools don't fight cost they just spend. Then the schools allow students to major in programs that will not allow them to pay the loans back in a reasonable time. Students get out of school and are hampered by high student loan payments which restricts their ability to spend in the economy.

Our college system is a mess.

 

Are you saying that you think shcools should dictate what major a student can choose?

Are you saying that you think shcools should dictate what major a student can choose?

 

I'm saying colleges should make degrees with less future projected income cheaper or at the very least educate kids on what that projected income is before they committ to that major. But I'm also crazy enough to say no one should be able to attend school on 100% loan. Everyone should have to pay some percentage so you feel the pain and understand what you are getting into.

I read an article recently that had a very interesting solution, separate the teaching entity from the one that awards the degree/certificate.

Allow people to earn a degree by passing a given # of exams, much like a person earns a financial adviser licence. Make each exam progressively harder, with a set limit on the # of attempts to pass.

You then let the general public decide how they would like to prepare for these exams. If they want to go to college, so be it. However, they would not be forced to, since the university would not be the one to award the degree.

If they wanted to they could use a personal tutor or even their local library.

This would stop the monopoly enjoyed by today's colleges and force them to quit gouging our students for every penny they can squeeze out of them.

I'd also argue that if jobs that have no business requiring college degrees would step back on those requirements, it sure would help as well. I've said for years that a college degree has become equivalent to what a high school degree used to be (i.e. don't bother applying if you don't have one). There are tons of people going to traditional colleges that have no business being there, and all it does is cost them money. Even worse, many come out the other side and still can't get a job.

 

The answer to this may be having tougher admission standards for colleges, ramping up the difficulty level of college classes and getting rid of remedial courses and online classes.

I'm saying colleges should make degrees with less future projected income cheaper or at the very least educate kids on what that projected income is before they committ to that major. But I'm also crazy enough to say no one should be able to attend school on 100% loan. Everyone should have to pay some percentage so you feel the pain and understand what you are getting into.

 

I tend to put the onus on the student. It is their responsibility to research their chosen field and make a determination whether or not to pursue a low paying career path. I agree that skin in the game would be helpful. Perhaps more work study and fewer loans.

I was digging around online and came across this opinion piece from last year. It's nearly a year old but still relevant on why college tuition has skyrocketed.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/opinion/sunday/the-real-reason-college-tuition-costs-so-much.html?WT.mc_id=2016-KWP-AUD_DEV&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=AUDDEVREMARK&kwp_0=87106&kwp_4=453362&kwp_1=254857&_r=0

 

A couple interesting excerpts:

 

"...a major factor driving increasing costs is the constant expansion of university administration. According to the Department of Education data, administrative positions at colleges and universities grew by 60 percent between 1993 and 2009, which Bloomberg reported was 10 times the rate of growth of tenured faculty positions."

 

"Even more strikingly, an analysis by a professor at California Polytechnic University, Pomona, found that, while the total number of full-time faculty members in the C.S.U. system grew from 11,614 to 12,019 between 1975 and 2008, the total number of administrators grew from 3,800 to 12,183 — a 221 percent increase."

 

Sound like our big government.