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There’s no data in this article. In his recent book, Ron Lieber argues that the actual price paid hasn’t gone up nearly so much as the sticker price because of
by dap 4y ago
There’s no data in this article.
In his recent book, Ron Lieber argues that the actual price paid hasn’t gone up nearly so much as the sticker price because of the increasing ubiquity of merit aid (which is terribly named). How does that factor in?
He also points out that people’s expectations about what colleges provide have gone up. People expect small class sizes, mental health services, etc. If you argue colleges are just capturing extra money and not doing anything useful with it, I want to know where you think it’s going and why you think that?
The solution here sounds awful. I really like the diversity of college experiences available and I’d hate to see that homogenized. Which is not to say it should be a “blank check”, but it’s already not that — the max is calculated based on need, and families have to make up the difference. Plus loans aren’t cheap. So there’s already incentive for students to choose cheaper schools even if they qualify for more aid.
- peteradio 4y ago> I want to know where you think it’s going and why you think that Guess: Do nothing administrators paid to be on vacation. Why: Several years ago I called 4 of them to follow up on different job applications and did not once get a live human, only out of office messages. Over the course of about six weeks I called each every week and left each a single message. I never received a single call back or email. This was my almamater after moving back to the state following my graduate study.
- nonethewiser 4y ago
- peteradio 4y agoLike I said, never heard back but that would have been a pretty extraordinary explanation given this was around 2018.
- dap 4y agoUgh, that does sound really frustrating. Certainly, people bring up too many overpaid administrators a lot. It's a compelling story too because it's got a well-defined bad guy. I've not seen much depth to the analysis though. Another story might be that "administrator" is what some people call people whose jobs they don't know or don't associate with "running a college"? Elsewhere in this thread folks have pointed out that colleges _do_ a lot more things now, from mental health services to just being bigger (and so having more overhead and associated middle management). _More_ administrators isn't bad if they're doing useful things.
- BaseballPhysics 4y agoAgreed. The closest thing this post has to data is the chart of increasing tuition, and despite the claims of 1993 being an inflection point, the graph doesn't actually demonstrate that. If anything, there's a sudden increase in the rate of growth in the 2000s that would be interesting to understand, but since the article likely started with the conclusion and worked backwards, it's no surprise that's not explored.
- hnburnsy 4y ago> I want to know where you think it’s going and why you think that My daughter had four simultaneous academic advisors (general, college, and two honors) during her undergrad, so I think it's going to pay too many administrators for duplicate services or services way beyond the mission of education. Why do I think this, because of this and other duplication\excesses we saw.
- BaseballPhysics 4y ago> so I think You can think anything you want. What can you prove? Because a single anecdote about a single institution in a single circumstance is hardly the basis for making systemic policy decisions.
- paulpauper 4y agoi dunno why this got up-voted so highly. Nothing here. >He also points out that people’s expectations about what colleges provide have gone up. People expect small class sizes, mental health services, etc. If you argue colleges are just capturing extra money and not doing anything useful with it, I want to know where you think it’s going and why you think that? Exactly. Also ignoring the wage premium, which is wider than ever. Adjusted for inflation and student loan debt, grads are still earning more money than ever.