On rising tuition

When examining the topic of college tuition in the American society, there are many aspects that one may think of. For example, should tuition be lowered, should it be raised, or should it be abolished? In particular, I am examining the aspect of rising tuition. To further understand this issue, one must know its history and causes. Many has formulated different reasons why college tuition has risen over the years and whether it is “good” or “bad”. 

There is no true set date of when tuition began to rise, but I believe it gradually elevated. By the 1980s, it became noticeable. The New York Times’ educational correspondent, Joseph Berger points out the rising tuition in his 1988 article for the periodical. He says that “[…] Brown University, where tuition has risen about 150 percent over 10 years.” He recognizes a study conducted by the College Board that shows “from 1981 to 1987, the cost of attending a private university increased 81 percent.” This shows that the prices did not go spike “overnight”, but rose chunk by chunk. 

Going back a decade, in a 1974 article from the Harvard Crimson, Harvard University’s daily newspaper, touches on tuition rise within its own school. The unknown author addresses the graduate school’s increase, showing the readers how much had been raised over the year. For example, “the 1974-75 tuition for the first two years of study at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was also raised $200, to $3400. Graduate students will continue to pay the reduced rate of $1000 per year for their third and subsequent years of residence.” The author, also, exhibits other Ivy League school’s tuition rise, “Yale University announced last November that total charges for 1974-75 would be raised $350 to $5350. Brown University's charges will be raised $300 next year to a total of $5130. A $350 increase at Cornell University will bring total charges there to $5030.” 

Moving on, this issue is without a specific motive to why tuition rates has risen over the years, but there are many who has reasons why. Amanda Reaume, a contributor for Credit.com (a financial news site partnered with USA TODAY), states in her USA TODAY article that “the rapidly increasing costs of an education have been blamed on a number of different factors like professors' inflated salaries, construction booms on campus, students demanding luxury amenities, increased administrative costs, availability of student loans, state funding cuts and technological changes.” Reaume shows that there is no one reason for tuition rise and shows examples of what exactly people may blame. 

One of the previously stated authors, Joseph Berger, also revealed reasons why the prices were rising in the same article above, “Education; College Officials Defend Sharply Rising Tuition.” Berger says “But college officials say that to keep their schools attractive they have to continue to raise tuition so that the schools can spend more on items from computer centers to recruiting more women as coaches.” He also includes a statement made by Michael O’Keefe, the “president of the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education, an association of foundations and corporations that aid higher education.” O’Keefe states “Colleges are spending more to provide things that students and their parents want and demand.” This shows as reason to why tuition was on the rise. 

The executive director of the Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America, Yeh Ling-Ling, has a different reason to why college tuition has gone up in her 2010 article, “Children of Illegal Aliens Should Not Go to College and Gain Legal Status”. Ling-Ling says that the DREAM Act and illegal immigrants are to blame for the rising costs. Going into detail, the DREAM Act “grant reduced tuition and legal permanent residency to possibly millions of students who have been in the United States illegally.” She insinuates the by reducing the immigrants tuition, it is not only unfair, but it could mean high prices for the American born students. The strange factor about Ling-Ling’s argument was that she was an immigrant. 

In conclusion, there are no specific factors to why college tuition has risen nor is there a specific time when tuition rises. But it is known that by the 1980s, Americans began to take notice that tuition was on the rise. Many people has conjured reasons why college became so expensive, but there is no particular reason. I believe with the evidence provided, understanding this issue has become a little less difficult. 

Bibliography 

Berger, Joseph. "Education; College Officials Defend Sharply Rising Tuition." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Mar. 1988. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/23/us/education-college-officials-defend-sharply-rising-tuition.html>. 

"Faculty Announces Raise In 1974-75 Tuition, Fees | News | The Harvard Crimson." Faculty Announces Raise In 1974-75 Tuition, Fees. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1974/3/5/faculty-announces-raise-in-1974-75-tuition/>. 

Ling-Ling, Yeh. "Children of Illegal Aliens Should Not Go to College and Gain Legal Status." What Rights Should Illegal Immigrants Have? Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from "The Dream for Some, a Nightmare for the Rest." Daily Californian 19 Oct. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. 

Reaume, Amanda. "Will Tuition Ever Stop Increasing?" USA Today. Gannett, 8 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/11/08/credit-dotcom-tuition/18417721/>.