kitchen table math, the sequel: Speaking of credentialism and college tuition

Friday, January 8, 2016

Speaking of credentialism and college tuition

I was bemoaning the fact that 18-year olds today must take on more debt to earn a college degree that will get them a lower-paid job than in previous eras, and a few minutes later came across this:
It’s been eight years since the Great Recession caused many states to scale back their higher education budgets, and the vast majority of states haven’t fully restored that spending despite improvements in the overall economy.

A new report from the research firm Young Invincibles, a millennial advocacy group, finds that 48 states -- all but Alaska and North Dakota -- are spending less per student on higher education than they did before the recession. Louisiana’s funding has fallen the most since the recession (41 percent), followed by Alabama (39 percent) and Pennsylvania (37 percent).

On average, states have cut funding per student by 21 percent since the recession. Tuition at public schools has increased 28 percent over the same period. (Private school tuition has increased about 20 percent in that period, according to the College Board.)

[snip]

Three-quarters of American college students attend public colleges.

As States Cut Funding, Tuition at Public Colleges Soars
Inflation matters, too.

In a low-inflation environment, employees have lower raises and repay debt in more expensive dollars.

1 comment:

lgm said...

Public school increases for just the staff raises are 4 percent annually. Hard for many communities to sustain that, as their citizens arent getting raises that high. And revenue from stores is costly, it requires legal action as the stores try to reduce their cost. Farmers are protected. That doesnt leave much local contribution, unless the taxpayers who are wealthy are numerous enough to override the tax cap. And if they do, the others leave, turning the homes into multifamily rentals, necessitating more staff without sufficient funding. Local funding to the extent we have now is not working....there isnt enough to pay for all the unfunded mandates, sn, and academics. Academics have been cut here...students have no classes that are not required for the diploma. Luckily they can fill their study hall time with conversation with one of the mandated esl teachers, an aide, a psych or a social worker.