
Is College Tuition Really Too High? - danso
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/is-college-tuition-too-high.html
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rahimnathwani
"these schools spend considerably more than $100,000 a year educating each
student"

Averaged over 30 weeks, that's $3.3k. I could pay a private tutor $100 per
hour ($150 including payroll taxes and benefits) for 20 hours per week and
still pay less than $100k per year.

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SixSigma
My University has five floors of library and a multi million pound budget that
includes student access to online electronic versions of books and journals.

It also hosts regular events and guest speakers.

It organises paid industrial placements for students, foriegn exchange
programmes at no extra cost, it's own concert hall, a super-computer and,
until he stepped down this year, you got your degree handed to you by Sir
Patrick Stewart (Capt. Picard) but for my graduation I will have to make do
with Prince Andrew.

There are more benefits my tution goes toward.

Economies of scale are a thing.

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ConfuciusSay
Since 1987, higher education institutions have doubled the ratio of
nonacademic employees to faculty. There are now two nonacademic employees at
public and two and a half at private universities and colleges for every one
full-time, tenure-track member of the faculty.

Yet, the universities are pumping out roughly the same number of graduates.

Why such high growth in administrators? Is our education now better than 1987?
How come every other industry is cutting costs, while higher education is
increasing costs and beaurocracy?

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jazzyk
It is interesting how produce-nothing bureaucrats always manage to multiply
like insects. The same pattern applies to the government, health care, etc.
That's why we urgently need to go back to free (or as close to free as
possible) markets - to keep this scum in check.

And no, higher education is not a free market, despite appearances.

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ArtDev
This shouldn't be a question as college should be free.

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closure
Nothing is free. Even if the student isn't paying tuition, someone is.

So in your opinion who should that be?

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lokedhs
Everybody, in the form of taxes. After all, education benefits the entire
society so it makes sense everybody helps pay for it.

It's also a good way to take advantage of all potential instead of only the
ones that happen to have money.

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closure
That's already happening in the U.S. - State schools are heavily subsidized by
taxes. I went to one which was (and still is) relatively inexpensive for in-
state students and delivered fantastic value for what I paid.

Saying "universities should be free" and that it should be paid for "by taxes"
without being more specific about _which universities_ and _what taxes_ paid
for by _which specific people_ doesn't really add anything.

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cableshaft
Those subsidies have gone way, way down since at least 2008, for quite a few
states. That's part of the reason tuition has been skyrocketing, to make up
for the reduced subsidies. At one school that I know someone who works on the
staff, the state was perpetually six months behind where it was supposed to be
for payments and they had to go through a 40% reduction in their subsidy.

In Illinois, they even proposed a bill to _privatize_ their _public_ schools
this year. I don't think it passed, but the fact that it was even proposed
says something. Source: [http://www.dailyeasternnews.com/2015/03/24/senator-
proposes-...](http://www.dailyeasternnews.com/2015/03/24/senator-proposes-
bill-privatizing-public-universities/)

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camillomiller
Yes. End of article

