Challenge #1: Rising Costs The escalating cost of higher education is certainly one of the worst kept secrets in the field, but Forbes notes that data from a report by the National Center for Education Statistics puts a hard edge on this reality. In 1980, the total annual cost of attending a four-year college full-time was $10,231 (an inflation adjusted figure). That included all tuition, fees, room and board. By the 2019-20 academic year, the price increased to $28,775 – a 180% increase over four decades. 1
In analyzing these figures, Forbes points to three factors that lead to rising higher education costs:
• The need for additional student support services to encourage better educational outcomes • Reductions in state and local funding in some places, which shift more costs onto students • The overall increase in costs for service industries generally That last point, as discussed by Forbes, has perhaps the deepest impact. Education isn’t exactly like any other industry, where the overall “per-unit” cost can be kept in check through productivity gains using robotics, computer software or logistics refinement. At least, education can’t be delivered “quicker, better, cheaper” and still maintain the same kind of full-fledged academic experience students say they want. Some may argue that education is just its own, special category, and cost escalation is just an acceptable part of the equation. As a plaque in more than one college financial aid office reads, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Still, when we compare the rising price tag for one year at college against inflation in the economy generally, we begin to understand the sticker shock felt by students and families. The graph on the next page tells the story. 2
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