College costs: How did we get here?

By Levi Williams

Unfortunately for us all, the cost of community colleges like Delta is not the national standard. Since 1995, in state tuition at public universities has doubled even after adjusting for inflation — per CollegeBoard, the average annual price today is nearly $12,000. These schools can be generous with financial aid (especially for incoming freshmen), but offers vary drastically and many students still don’t receive meaningful amounts relative to the total cost. The general picture is clear: tuition for many has become unreasonably expensive. A degree has always been and will continue to be very valuable, but these costs are unsustainable for the average American.

How did we get here?

There’s some debate on the exact cause, but the consensus seems to be that it’s the fault of a combination of factors. Firstly, universities themselves are spending much more money than they used to. They want to attract more students, and to do so they pump huge amounts of money into campus programs and facilities. That funding has to come from somewhere, and you can probably guess that it’s frequently not coming from private donors. Especially with so much student loan funding available, there’s nothing to stop universities from making full use of it by hiking tuition and using that extra money to continually expand. It seems that many schools have opted to focus more on bells and whistles than the actual learning, which is the entire reason behind attending college.

We also see huge spending in the form of administrative bloat. Especially in recent years, institutions have been hiring more and more administrators. These aren’t professors (faculty) — they’re people who oversee operations, plan programs, handle student services etc — and many schools have been bringing them on at a rate that frequently outstrips that of the hiring of actual instructional staff. This is partially its own problem, but it can also be an effect of an earlier point. As colleges race to grow what they offer in terms of facilities, resources and offices, they hire huge numbers of staff to support that mission. Regardless of the cause, though, all these additional employees are not particularly cheap. That cost is reflected in the tuition charged.

Additionally, institutions receive less government funding than they used to. A 2022 study by the National Education Association found that the majority of U.S. states (32/50) were spending less at the time on public university funding than they were in 2008. The premise of these schools is that they receive financial support from the government, but today that money can no longer be relied upon. When the government opts not to support education, the costs are yet again passed on to the general public.

Together, these issues paint a troubling picture. Governments aren’t making it a point of emphasis to ensure that their people have access to affordable higher education, and universities are only making things worse when they focus on flashiness and bureaucracy instead of the educational necessities. It’s a dreadful sort of unintentional joint effort, and because of its effects, many students in America are being forced to either forgo earning their degree or take on enormous student loan burdens. Data from the National Student Loan Data System shows that the total amount of student loan debt in the United States in 2024 exceeded $1.6 trillion. Across 42.7 million borrowers, that’s nearly $40,000 in per-person debt.

With all this being said, the issue of college costs is not a hopeless case. Although it varies greatly between students, financial aid can pave the way for many. The sticker price is intimidating, but a lot of people receive enough money to make it manageable. However, truly fixing this issue for everyone goes beyond hoping for scholarships to offset high tuition costs. A real solution will require long-term cooperation and changes from lawmakers and college directors. Purdue University set a great example by freezing their tuition in 2013 — it hasn’t risen since, and a few other schools have followed suit. Additionally, recent trends present some hope. Over the last few years specifically, tuition increases across the nation have stalled somewhat or even reversed course. The damage has by and large already been done, but it’s at least a start.

Primarily, though, we have to realize as a nation that affordable college is not some sort of pipe dream. As a matter of fact, tuition is already free in countries such as Germany and Norway. Students cover living expenses, but taxpayer money ensures that taking classes doesn’t cost anything. Now, free tuition isn’t necessarily the end goal in the United States — it would obviously be a tough sell considering the comparative scale and distinct political environment here — but it goes to show that reducing the cost of tuition can most definitely be done. Higher education can be affordable when a country has a clearly defined goal and sets out to make it happen. An investment in the education of the people is an investment in the future of the nation. Here’s hoping that those with the power to make a difference can find more balanced solutions across the board.