REQUIRED READING
Weissmann, Jordan. "Here's Exactly How Much the Government Would Have to Spend to Make Public College Tuition-Free." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 3 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Jordan Weissman’s piece mainly discusses how expensive it would be for the United States government to fully subsidize all public universities in the country. He does so by finding that in 2012, students paid approximately 62.6 billion dollars to attend college. He then analyzes this amount, taking into account government budget data to find out where this money could have come from. Weissman’s clear positioning in this article brought forth a moderate amount of publicity, as he made two edits to the article to address come received comments. His article provides a good look at some raw data and other information about the process of government funding public education.
Odland, Steve. "College Costs Out of Control." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Steve Odland tries to explain the reasoning behind why tuition prices have risen through the notion of university expenses. He presents several enlightening statistics that demonstrate how administrative costs have risen, and attacks tenure for professors as an inefficient way to overspend. He also suggests that increasing demand acts as an inflator for college tuition prices. Since enrollment has increased so rapidly, colleges are able to demand more money, so naturally the prices will trend upwards. Odland utilizes this straightforward take to explain the reasoning behind numerous causes of the spike in college tuition. Odland presents a straightforward take on a few of the reasons why college is so expensive, and he does a very good job ensuring clarity within his reasoning behind his arguments.
Schoen, John. "The Real Reasons a College Degree Costs so Much."CNBC. 16 June 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
John W. Schoen uses his study of college tuition prices to thoroughly analyze many of the reasons why college tuition is so expensive. He covers college-side costs, high demand, and government interference, all of which are covered on this site. He also speaks about the impact of the 2007 recession, which in turn led to a large drop in funding that has never fully recovered. He uses visual aids throughout his article, namely to provide a visualization of college and government budgets. Schoen’s article features one of the most complete presentations of the college tuition problem that I had encountered during my time researching the project.
Abel, Jaison R., and Richard Deitz. “Do The Benefits Of College Still Outweigh The Costs?.” Current Issues In Economics & Finance 20.3 (2014): 1-12. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Jason R. Abel and Richard Deitz use their essay to investigate the value of a college degree as an investment. They use visual data (graphs, tables) to show critical data, including the net return on bachelors, masters degrees, and the total cost of a college degree. The graphs help to present the statistical cases for and against obtaining a college degree. Additionally, the article analyzes the numbers displayed and uses them to formulate an argument rooted in fact, free of all biases. Ultimately, this is quite an interesting piece that provides a unique view on the metrics demonstrating the true value of a college degree.
Davidson, Adam. "Is College Tuition Really Too High?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Adam Davidson’s article opens by describing how college tuition prices have increased at a rate far superior than almost every other basic necessity. He goes on to explain that countries that provide education for its citizens will tend to have more productive citizens, using twentieth century US as an example. His main insight into the price of college is the fact that universities differ from other businesses in one major way: the consumers are also a part of the product. He explains that students are paying to leave college as polished adults, ready to begin successful careers in their respective fields. They are essentially investing in themselves, as each college competes against one another to provide that student with the best possible experience. Overall, Davidson’s article goes incredibly in-depth and provides a fascinating take on how college prices are affected directly by students.
The College Tuition Problem In The Media:
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