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High tuition rates are caused by the collapse in state funding for higher education. There is no correlation with loan availability. This has been debunked coun

High tuition rates are caused by the collapse in state funding for higher education. There is no correlation with loan availability. This has been debunked countless times. https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-higher-education-funding-cuts-have-pushed-costs-to-students https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-hig... Historically, funding was tied to tuition caps. These had to be removed when states cut funding to have balanced budgets.

expensive_news 3y ago
The source you linked to states that funding has fallen around $1220 per year per student, after adjusting for inflation. But it goes on to state that tuition costs have increased $2708 per year. So what are universities doing with that extra $1500 per year per student? I agree that schools should be better funded, but ballooning tuition costs are more than just a lack of funding.
bitshiftfaced 3y ago
(All non-inflation adjusted): 2008 to 2021, 4 year public school tuition $7280 to $9375 = +28.8% 2008 to 2021, state support per full time equivalent student: $6552 to $7896 = +20.5% It looks like cbpp "debunked" it by picking a year that was particularly favorable to that point of view (2018). Looks to me like the two variables have been trending together just fine as per recent data.
- ZoomerCretin 3y ago
  Looks like you debunked it by picking a year particularly favorable to your point of view. There was a temporary influx of funding from the massive COVID relief/stimulus packages. The article was written in 2019. There was no cherry picking. That was the most recent data available to them.
  - bitshiftfaced 3y ago
    And yet tuition didn't go down as cbpp would've predicted. We at least agree that we ought to use the most recent data when determining whether something has actually been debunked, correct? They used the most recent data at the time, but it's no longer 2018.
    - ZoomerCretin 3y ago
      That's not what they predicted. Why would you expect it to go down? It was a one year boost in funding and the states didn't condition the funding on tuition prices. Universities _will not_ reduce tuition without being forced to do so. Universities _cannot_ reduce tuition without more funding.
      - bitshiftfaced 3y ago
        Because part of the article's premise is that the high sticker price is dissuading people from enrolling. The cost of running a university net public funding was significantly reduced from 2018 to 2021. When your margin goes up and your demand goes down below capacity, then prices go down due to price equilibrium, since the marginal benefit from enrolling one more student is positive, assuming a student can pick from more than one university. But this didn't happen, which means the prices are being driven by some other force (maybe student loans that can never be discharged through bankruptcy?)
        ZoomerCretin 3y ago
        Maximizing revenue frequently involves demand being below capacity. If reducing tuition by 20% increases enrollment by less than 20%, it's revenue-negative. My university was the most expensive public school in my state and still enrolled more students every year while increasing (nominal?) tuition despite not being the flagship or a party school. There is a lot more demand for spots in good schools than there are spots available. Universities aren't socks. Students don't pick one because it's 5% cheaper. They're not nearly as price-sensitive as you'd think.
        3y ago

expensive_news 3y ago

The source you linked to states that funding has fallen around $1220 per year per student, after adjusting for inflation. But it goes on to state that tuition costs have increased $2708 per year. So what are universities doing with that extra $1500 per year per student? I agree that schools should be better funded, but ballooning tuition costs are more than just a lack of funding.

bitshiftfaced 3y ago

(All non-inflation adjusted): 2008 to 2021, 4 year public school tuition $7280 to $9375 = +28.8% 2008 to 2021, state support per full time equivalent student: $6552 to $7896 = +20.5% It looks like cbpp "debunked" it by picking a year that was particularly favorable to that point of view (2018). Looks to me like the two variables have been trending together just fine as per recent data.

ZoomerCretin 3y ago
Looks like you debunked it by picking a year particularly favorable to your point of view. There was a temporary influx of funding from the massive COVID relief/stimulus packages. The article was written in 2019. There was no cherry picking. That was the most recent data available to them.
- bitshiftfaced 3y ago
  And yet tuition didn't go down as cbpp would've predicted. We at least agree that we ought to use the most recent data when determining whether something has actually been debunked, correct? They used the most recent data at the time, but it's no longer 2018.
  - ZoomerCretin 3y ago
    That's not what they predicted. Why would you expect it to go down? It was a one year boost in funding and the states didn't condition the funding on tuition prices. Universities _will not_ reduce tuition without being forced to do so. Universities _cannot_ reduce tuition without more funding.
    - bitshiftfaced 3y ago
      Because part of the article's premise is that the high sticker price is dissuading people from enrolling. The cost of running a university net public funding was significantly reduced from 2018 to 2021. When your margin goes up and your demand goes down below capacity, then prices go down due to price equilibrium, since the marginal benefit from enrolling one more student is positive, assuming a student can pick from more than one university. But this didn't happen, which means the prices are being driven by some other force (maybe student loans that can never be discharged through bankruptcy?)
      - ZoomerCretin 3y ago
        Maximizing revenue frequently involves demand being below capacity. If reducing tuition by 20% increases enrollment by less than 20%, it's revenue-negative. My university was the most expensive public school in my state and still enrolled more students every year while increasing (nominal?) tuition despite not being the flagship or a party school. There is a lot more demand for spots in good schools than there are spots available. Universities aren't socks. Students don't pick one because it's 5% cheaper. They're not nearly as price-sensitive as you'd think.
        3y ago