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The fees were really laughably small by U.S. standards, but fees, once implemented, seem to turn into a "slippery slope." So, as much as I like to mock my Germ

The fees were really laughably small by U.S. standards, but fees, once implemented, seem to turn into a "slippery slope." So, as much as I like to mock my German students for complaining about having to pay €200 per semester, I think they were right to protest and "nip it in the bud". For instance, the University of California is formally tuition-free for in-state residents (edit: is this correct?), but over the last several decades, the required "campus fees" have grown from zero to $12,972 per year (UC Berkeley). (Perhaps someone could find a nice graph of the required fees vs time from 1960 until today.)

cafard 12y ago
After one of Mark Edmundson's op ed pleas for students and parents to consider college as non-vocational, I had a look at the University of Virginia's tuition and fees from the late 1970s to recently. Comparing this against the minimum wage, I found that a student could have earned the 1978-1979 tuition and fees working a bit over eight weeks at the minimum wage. For the 2011-2012 school year, it was more than 38 weeks.
- mkaziz 12y ago
  Is this before or after tax? 38 weeks seems short to me.
  - brianwawok 12y ago
    Well, 38 weeks * 40 hours * 7.25 per hour = $11,020. Your total tax bill at a yearly income of $11,020 is very close to $0 (and with educational credits I suspect you would get back slightly more than you pay).
  - cafard 12y ago
    Before. I ignored tax, mostly because at the minimum wage you don't pay much.
- jasonparallel 12y ago
  Uva transitioned from a state school to a state charter school in 2005 reducing its state funding.
rubbingalcohol 12y ago
You're correct. I went to a UC and they didn't have tuition, but there was an "education fee" of several thousand dollars.
- thrownaway2424 12y ago
  UC had very low fees until a combination of financial happenstance and determined Republican meddling (by Governor Reagan) forced them to first raise fees and then institute tuition. This was around 1983. At the time actuaries for the state were projecting dramatic multi-decade declines in population. You can see how that turned out.

cafard 12y ago

After one of Mark Edmundson's op ed pleas for students and parents to consider college as non-vocational, I had a look at the University of Virginia's tuition and fees from the late 1970s to recently. Comparing this against the minimum wage, I found that a student could have earned the 1978-1979 tuition and fees working a bit over eight weeks at the minimum wage. For the 2011-2012 school year, it was more than 38 weeks.

mkaziz 12y ago
Is this before or after tax? 38 weeks seems short to me.
- brianwawok 12y ago
  Well, 38 weeks * 40 hours * 7.25 per hour = $11,020. Your total tax bill at a yearly income of $11,020 is very close to $0 (and with educational credits I suspect you would get back slightly more than you pay).
- cafard 12y ago
  Before. I ignored tax, mostly because at the minimum wage you don't pay much.
jasonparallel 12y ago
Uva transitioned from a state school to a state charter school in 2005 reducing its state funding.

rubbingalcohol 12y ago

You're correct. I went to a UC and they didn't have tuition, but there was an "education fee" of several thousand dollars.

thrownaway2424 12y ago
UC had very low fees until a combination of financial happenstance and determined Republican meddling (by Governor Reagan) forced them to first raise fees and then institute tuition. This was around 1983. At the time actuaries for the state were projecting dramatic multi-decade declines in population. You can see how that turned out.