Blogs:

Over the last decade, cost of college has skyrocketed by 600 per cent. When it is time to apply for college, our children feel the pinch distinctly. According to predictions by economists, tuition costs will continue to rise and will reach proportions that are unattainable.

This means, college will soon become a distant dream that only the elite can afford. One of the major causes of skyrocketing tuition costs in public colleges is lack of state funding. This however is not the only reason.

Campuses now compete with each other in offering state-of-art, sophisticated facilities for students funded by none other than taxpayers and students themselves. As you take a tour of any private or public university today, you will be stuck by the spa-like gyms, dorm rooms that resemble five-star hotels, impressive libraries and the most advanced laboratories.

The sole aim of these colleges is to entice students with all these facilities, students who can afford to pay the steep tuition fees. There is massive spending by colleges and universities on borrowed money on extras that actually do not have a direct impact on student college experience.

According to Steven Roy Goodman, an educational consultant, beautified schools charge very high tuition. Renovations increase revenue for colleges that rely heavily on tuition. He went on to say that the college in question can be extremely beautiful but do not necessarily offer high quality education.

Apart from the five-star facilities, private and public colleges also offer other perks for students such as bowling alleys and on-campus movie theatres amassing a huge debt in the process. Many public universities have lost state funding for renovation even as they are unable to amass funds for capital improvements for their campuses through philanthropic giving and alumni support.

Neither public nor private colleges have the motivation to keep costs down in spite of the fact that they are unable to get the revenue they need from tuition and donations. One of our best, renowned universities Harvard is up to its neck with a $6 billion debt. These costs are ultimately factored into the tuition as there is no pressure from government on institutions to contain cost. This situation may change very soon fortunately.

In the recent State of Union address, our President has appealed to colleges to contain costs and has called for greater affordability and accountability. He has appealed to the Congress to incorporate value and affordability as key elements in the Higher Education Act.

These will be valuable indicators to identify colleges that are eligible for specific federal aid types. Based on these markers, a “college scorecard” will be created that will help students and families choose the best colleges based purely on value.

As Congress takes its own sweet time to come to a decision, a number of students will continue eyeing the job market and weigh the benefits of college education with respect to cost of tuition. Many of our students reach out for lower cost alternatives like online education or the community colleges.