2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: On opening college education for all who can benefit [View all]MichMan
(11,915 posts)I don't have a link that explains the rise in tuition; it is undeniably caused by all the factors you mentioned. The point is that the costs of attending college has far outpaced inflation. As costs increased substantially, you would expect that enrollment would drop as students would either decide it was no longer worth it or they just couldn't afford the increases.
That wasn't what happened. Enrollments did not drop; students and parents still decided that a college education was a requirement in today's economy and just kept borrowing as much as they needed to cover the costs. At that point there was little to no incentive for colleges to cut the costs as people kept enrolling & paying no matter what.
I think some students/parents knew the costs were out of line, but felt like they had no other options while others saw it as monopoly money and didn't really think that borrowing $100K for a degree in Parks & Recreation or Radio, TV & Film wasn't a good idea.
FYI, I realize it was 25 yrs ago, and times have changed, but I went to fine private college in the Detroit area and received a fantastic education earning a Mechanical Engineering degree. Had to take out student loans as I was making just a little over minimum wage at the time, but it was worth every penny.
I think making college more affordable is essential, but free college? ; not sure how that is realistically feasible.