I came across the statements from my sophomore year at University of Portland, a private college. I graduated in May 1975. Fall of 1972 total cost for tuition, room and board and bunch of misc charges was $ 1,474. Winter/spring of 1973 was $ 1,405. Total for the year was $ 2,879.
That was very expensive, or so it seemed. I remember people who worked and went to school, paying their way as they went. No one can do that now. It seemed huge that I had $ 4,500 of school loan debt when I graduated. I think I had it paid off by 1978. I have always been severely allergic to debt.
It is a very complex issue.
First, about 20 years ago, we deregulated a lot, which allowed various for-profit companies to open "universities" and drive many students away from state schools. Those folks just want a piece of paper (University of Phoenix). At one point, the University of Phoenix had 450,000 students. How does that work? They hire low-cost instructors and have them teach using ready-made syllabi, etc. For example, the graduate program I am in could use 10 more students next semester to have a healthy bottom line. But I can guarantee you, those 10 students are at the University of Phoenix, American Military University, etc. We have to keep accreditation, logistical costs etc. It is so bad that Phoenix was banned from Peterson SFB (Northcomm/NORAD). Most students don't care about accreditation, etc.
2. States pulled a lot of funding during the 2008 financial crisis, never returning funding to the same levels. It is a BIG deal. State universities provide your nurses, city engineers etc. However, we dumbed down that discussion.
3. There is no doubt that federal regulation played a part in it. Various mandates ballooned the administration. My university kept the ratio of administration/faculty well below the federal level. But many universities are struggling with these mandates. Then, investments in state-of-the-art recreational facilities, dorms, etc., really overburden many schools. They thought those investments would help with enrollment. They paid attention to the US News & World Report school rankings instead of delivering education. They are paying the price now.
Things are going to get really, really bad in the future because of online education. State schools push online education because it lowers costs and allows them to reach a wider audience. EVERYONE knows it is a scam. Online education is an attack on the fabric of society. But they don't have any other option, as Phoenix, AMI, Colorado Tech (a Chicago-based school with a "fancy" name) etc. are driving students away. So, students in state schools, your average state school down the road, get better education than at Phoenix, but it is still suboptimal. Students who go to Harvard, MIT, Stanford, UCLA, U. of Colorado at Boulder, go there bcs. they want to be in a cool place, mom and dad have money, and they get an in-person quality education. The gap now between someone going to the University of Colorado, Boulder, and, let's say, Metro State in Denver is suddenly much wider than before. The quality of graduates from average state schools is now lower than pre-COVID levels, while big schools still produce similar quality as before. Basically, those who go to Metro State will get lower-quality education than before, but still rack up debt as schools have to survive. Folks who think it is not a big deal will get less educated nurses, engineers, etc.
So, a lot of variables go into the cost of school. And I really don't know where the inflection point is.
