Holy Crap. It does not seem possible that Trinity College in Hartford, CT should cost $40,000 year. On top of that the school still has over a $10 million deficit. This is why colleges are getting out of reach for the average person.
Colleges are being run like professional sports teams. Colleges keep raising tuition just like teams raise salaries. Students keep demanding more NEEDS, which the college gives them when they are really just WANTS. (Cable is a paid privilege not a right. DSL isn't a right either.) They let the students/parents run the school like the players do instead of working collaboratively together to keep costs down. I understand that the students are the customers, but students are graduating college having been babied for 4 to 5 years that they have a tough time out on their own. Now so many people end up living with there parents after graduation. (Yes I realize the irony.) It wasn't that way even 10 years ago.
It is scary that higher education is becoming something that only the elite can afford. Thank God for community colleges. In 3 years we will have a string of years with less college aged people than we have in over 20 years. Colleges are going to start shutting down. No one reduces costs. Bradford College shut down a few years ago to not much fan fare, but I believe that the NHL actually could happen to Higher Education. Sadly, I blame the players about the NHL and I think I may blame the students/parents if it happens to colleges and universities too.
2 comments:
Yes it's true college keeps getting more expensive, and part of the reason is that colleges are giving into the "wants" of students. I forget which ivy league school still offered maid service for its students... is that really needed?
But I think the problem goes past that Greg. Schools are more expensive than ever and in debt because schools are not being financially responsible or just simply pay out too much. Here's a few examples.
Umass Dartmouth was in the red despite having a dramatic increase in freshmen the last couple of years... They were in the red because they had more administration than the Lowell campus, which handled basically the same number of students.
Another example is salaries. People complained that President Bulger was making about $600,000 a year. Which I have to admit is a lot of money. However, Presidents at a lot of other public and private institutions make over 1 to 2 million dollars. Does anybody even remember the Umass system for over 10 years maintained or reduced tuition and fee cost? This was mainly because Bulger was able to get people on the Hill to support the Umass System, eventually leading to research initiatives that brought even more money in the schools? Who knew.
College will always be around, and yes, some of the bullshit ones will go bankrupt and close their gates. The problem isn't the wants of students, it may just be the pockets of some private instituions.
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