Over the last decade, higher education in America has faced an intense amount of scrutiny. Rising costs and increasing levels of student loan debt, coupled with falling academic rigor, have prompted some tough questions for America’s colleges and universities, but enrollment continues to climb.
Although alternative pathways to good-paying jobs have sprung up in recent years, most are still considered far outside the mainstream pathway of college as a route to a successful career. However, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to change different aspects of everyday life, one of its most lasting consequences could be how it changes the way Americans think about higher education.
The primary point of contention is the fact that the cost of attending a 4-year university has skyrocketed compared to the cost of attendance for previous generations. College tuition has more than doubled since the 1980s—outpacing any increases in the payoff graduates can expect from attending—and those rising costs have saddled millions with a substantial amount of debt.
Continue reading at Foundation for Economic Education.
Ben Wilterdink is the former Director of Programs at the Archbridge Institute. Follow him @bgwilterdink.
Economics of Flourishing
Over the last decade, higher education in America has faced an intense amount of scrutiny. Rising costs and increasing levels of student loan debt, coupled with falling academic rigor, have prompted some tough questions for America’s colleges and universities, but enrollment continues to climb.
Although alternative pathways to good-paying jobs have sprung up in recent years, most are still considered far outside the mainstream pathway of college as a route to a successful career. However, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to change different aspects of everyday life, one of its most lasting consequences could be how it changes the way Americans think about higher education.
The primary point of contention is the fact that the cost of attending a 4-year university has skyrocketed compared to the cost of attendance for previous generations. College tuition has more than doubled since the 1980s—outpacing any increases in the payoff graduates can expect from attending—and those rising costs have saddled millions with a substantial amount of debt.
Continue reading at Foundation for Economic Education.
Ben Wilterdink
Ben Wilterdink is the former Director of Programs at the Archbridge Institute. Follow him @bgwilterdink.
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