The dramatic rise in university tuition costs is placing a greater financial burden on millions of college-bound Americans and their families. Yet only a fraction of the additional money colleges are collecting—twenty-one cents on the dollar—goes toward instruction. And, by many measures, colleges are doing a worse job of educating Americans. Why are we spending more—and getting less? In Going Broke by Degree, economist Richard Vedder examines the causes of the college tuition crisis. He warns that exorbitant tuition hikes are not sustainable, and explores ways to reverse this alarming trend....
America’s universities have become less productive, less efficient, and more likely to use tuition money and state and federal grants to subsidize noninstructional activities such as athletics. These factors combine to produce dramatic hikes in tuition, making it more difficult for Americans to afford college.
The traditional argument for government subsidies is that a college education provides not only the private benefit of a higher income and a more abundant life but also the social benefit of a more productive and educated citizenry. Maybe, but Mr. Vedder ingeniously shows that the states that have spent the most on higher education in the past 25 years have experienced the least economic growth.
Going Broke by Degree...
...Why College Costs Too Much:
