How Much Did College Costs Increase After Recession? - The Wall Street Journal

How Much Did College Costs Increase After Recession?

The article overviews a report released by the Dept. of Education which examine how much college costs have risen since the Recession. Generally, the costs have increased for both public and private schools. However, it's interesting to note that while the net cost of a public education increased by an average of $1,100 from 2007/08 to 2011/12, the average increase in the net cost of a private education during the same time period was only $200 (when adjusted for inflation).

However, the truly troubling statistic in the article is that 50% of the nation's colleges and universities are not making enough money in revenue to counter rising inflation. And so the question is, how will this affect the students?

Basically, there are only a few possibilities:

A) Institutions charge more, which hurts the student by costing them more out-of-pocket or increasing their student loan debts (which has nationally topped $1 trillion...)

B) Institutions cut costs by decreasing quality or the amount of services offered, which also hurts students, depending on what is cut.

There are other hypothetical ways which colleges could try to fight inflation. Perhaps schools would stop having school-sponsored housing? Maybe smaller colleges would join together in an effort to cut costs?

Whatever they decide to do, someone is going to lose out, whether the students, the institution, or the professors. The rising cost of a college education isn't just something that matters to college students. It will be an issue that greatly affects the economic health of our entire nation for many years to come.