The Rising Costs of Higher Education

John R. Thelin, PhD, is professor of higher education and public policy at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. He is an alumnus of Brown University where he concentrated in history and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He received his master's degree in history and doctorate in history of education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Providing a clear, logical guide to an illogical topic, this book provides an easy-to-understand guide for anyone who wants to successfully navigate the labyrinth of going to college-and paying for the experience.100 years ago, college tuition at prestigious Ivy League colleges such as Harvard and Brown was about $130 per year. Even when adjusted for inflation, today's cost of higher education has increased dramatically-to the point where a college education is shifting further out of reach for many Americans. This book explains the essential concepts in the debate regarding the staggering costs of higher education, supplying ten original essays by higher education policy experts, a lively historical narrative that provides context to current issues, and systematic guides to finding additional sources of information on the subject.Written from a historian's point of view, The Rising Costs of Higher Education: A Reference Handbook explains the economics of higher education in a manner that encourages readers to participate in the discussion on how to control ever-increasing tuition costs. Both college-bound students and parents will come to appreciate how complicated the problem of paying for college is, and grasp the crucial differences between "cost" and "price" in the specific economics of colleges and universities.

Providing a clear, logical guide to an illogical topic, this book provides an easy-to-understand guide for anyone who wants to successfully navigate the labyrinth of going to college-and paying for the experience.

List of TablesPreface1 Background and HistoryIntroduction: College Costs in the National News MediaFrom Popular Press to Public PoliciesContext: Access and Affordability in American Higher EducationCollege Costs: A Tradition of College ConsumerismCharters and College Building in AmericaCollege Costs and Competition in the 19th CenturyContext: Student Financial Aid Precedents and PracticesAttracting Students by Discounts and Low PricesProsperity and Prestige from 1880 to 1910Colleges between World War I and World War IIPost-World War II Innovation: The GI Bill and Student Financial AidPrestige and Popularity of Colleges, 1950 to 1970Need-Blind Admissions and Need-Based Financial Aid, 1960 to 1980The Federal Government and Student Financial Aid Initiatives, 1950 to 2010Hard Times: The New Depression in Higher Education, 1973 to 1985The High Point of Student ConsumerismCost Escalation and Tuition Price Fixing AllegationsThe Rise of Loans in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs, 1978 to 2011The Best of Times and the Worst of Times in Student Financial Aid, 2000 to 2011Context: Categories of College Costs and the Contemporary CampusCosts Complexity: The Case of the Multipurpose UniversityPrices and Costs in Higher Education: Decentralized Academic BudgetingReferences2 Problems, Controversies, and SolutionsConnections: Past to PresentConcepts Crucial to College CostsThe Complexity of the Modern CampusUniversities versus Business CorporationsProblems within the College and UniversityThe Faculty as the Problem in Rising College CostsThe Administration as the Problem in Rising College CostsStudents as the Problem in Rising College CostsResearch and Development as a Problem in Rising College CostsAcademic Medical Centers as a Problem in Rising College CostsIntercollegiate Athletics as a Problem in Rising College CostsPolicy Perspective: State Government and Higher EducationPolicy Perspective:The Federal Government and Higher EducationControversies over Policies: Problems of Rising College CostsPrice versus CostAccess versus ChoiceAdmissions versus AffordabilityEfficiency versus EffectivenessStudent Financial Aid: "Need-Based" versus "Merit" ScholarshipsStudent Financial Aid: Packaging and LayersPublic Good versus Private GoodThe "Tuition Gap"Controversy: Explanations on College CostsSolutions to the Problems of Rising College CostsSolution: Faculty AccountabilitySolution: Eliminate Faculty TenureSolution: High Tuition, High Need-Based AidSolution: Clarity of PurposeSolution: Rely on Distance Learning TechnologySolution: Rely on Private FundraisingConclusion: Equity and Excellence in American Higher EducationReferences3 PerspectivesIntroduction to the Forum on Policy PerspectivesThe College Cost Problem: The View from the Delta Cost Project, Jane V. WellmanDefining the College "Cost Problem,"Growing Economic Stratification between InstitutionsA Growing Price/Cost GapA Slight Decline in the Instructional Share of SpendingEmployee Benefits Increasing-Particularly in Public InstitutionsModest but Promising Increases in ProductivityConclusionsReferencesPerspective on the Rising Costs of Higher Education, Ronald G. EhrenbergIntroductionWhy Tuition Kept RisingWill Tuition Keep Rising?ReferencesCollege Cost: Over Hyped and Misunderstood, Robert B. Archibald and David H. FeldmanThe College of William & MaryPoor Pricing InformationMisconceptions about the Factors Driving College CostsReferencesHow Much Have College Prices Really Increased?, Terry W. HartlePosted Price Has Increased Sharply in the Last DecadeWhy Cost Matters: The Taxpayer Burden of Higher Education, Jorge Klor de AlvaIs the Price and Cost of a Degree Worth It to Taxpayers?Public Institutions Cost Taxpayers More Than Private OnesPercent of Total Annual Cost to Taxpayers per Student Earning a Bachelor's DegreeConclusionReferencesToo High a Price? The Impact of College Prices on Underserved Students, Brian A. Sponsler, Alisa F. CunninghamUnderserved Student Responses to High College PricesAddressing Student Perceptions of High PricesLearning from Student Reactions to High PriceReferencesJust Say No to "Sticker Price," Andrew P. KellyFamilies Need Net PricesBroadening Definitions of CostSumming UpReferencesForecasting Our Risks, Kristine E. DillonReferencesCommotion at the Gates: Higher Education's Evolving Role in U.S. Inequality, James C. HearnReferencesInternational Perspectives on the Rising Cost of Higher Education, D. Bruce JohnstoneReferences4 ProfilesKey Organizations and ProgramsAmerican Council on Education (ACE)American Education Society (AES)American Educational Society (AES)American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI)American Institutes for Research (AIR)Association of American Universities (AAU)Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)Brookings InstitutionCarnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT)Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP)College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB)Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's Education Center (CHCI)ConnectEDUConsortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE)Cornell Higher Education Research Institute, Cornell University (CHERI)Council of Independent Colleges (CIC)Delta Costs Project at American Research InstitutesEducation Sector (ES)Education TrustEducational Testing Service (ETS)Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU)Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF)Institute for College Access & SuccessInstitute of Higher Education Policy (IHEP)International Comparative Higher Education Finance & Accessibility Project (ICHEFAP)Latino College DollarsLumina FoundationNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education (NCPPHE)National Student ClearinghouseNational Study of Instructional Costs & Productivity (University of Delaware)Nexus Research and Policy CenterOrganisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)Pullias Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Southern CaliforniaState Higher Education Executives Office (SHEEO)Student Loan Marketing Association (SLM), or Sallie MaeUnited Negro College Fund (UNCF)U.S. Department of Education (USDoED or ED)Williams Project on the Economics of Higher Education (WPEHE)Key PersonsAdelman, CliffordArchibald, RobertBaum, SandyBlumenstyk, GoldieBowen, Howard R.Bowen, William G.Callan, Patrick M.Carey, KevinChambers, M. M.Cheit, EarlCunningham, Alisa FedericoDillon, Kristine E.Dingell, John D.Ehrenberg, Ronald G.Feldman, DavidFinn, Chester E., Jr.George, RichardGrassley, CharlesGreen, Edith StarrettHartle, TerryHearn, JamesHess, Frederick M.Hodgkinson, Virginia FadilJohnstone, D. BruceKelly, Andrew P.Kennedy, Edward Moore "Ted,"Kerr, ClarkKlor de Alva, JorgeLederman, DouglasMcPherson, Michael S.Middaugh, Michael F.Morrill, Justin SmithOdell, Morgan SayrePell, ClaibornePerkins, Carl D.Rhoades, GarySchneider, MarkJeffrey SelingoShapiro, Morton O.Sponsler, Brian A.Vedder, RichardWellman, Jane V.Wilkinson, RupertZook, George F.Key PublicationsChange: The Magazine of Higher EducationChronicle of Higher EducationGrapevineInside Higher EducationJournal of Higher EducationReview of Higher Education5 DocumentsIntroductionConstitution of the American Society for Educating Pious Youth for the Gospel Ministry (1815)The Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)Foundations and the Privately Endowed University as a New Type (1922)Serviceman's Readjustment Act (1944)President's Commission Report on Higher Education for American Democracy (1947)California Master Plan (The Donahoe Act) (1960)Higher Education Act Reauthorization: Creation of the BEOG (Pell Grants) (1972)What Price Egalitarianism? (1981)Delta Cost Project Report Summary (2009)6 ResourcesPrint ResourcesHistorical Context of Higher EducationCollege Costs and PricesStudent Financial Aid Policies and ProgramsAccess, Equity, and Social JusticePublic Policy and the Financing of Higher EducationCollege Student Enrollment and RetentionAdministration and Regulation of Higher EducationPrivate (Independent) Colleges and UniversitiesPhilanthropy and FundraisingFor-Profit Higher EducationIntercollegiate Athletics and the Costs of Higher EducationResearch UniversitiesProfessors and FacultyInternational Higher EducationCollege Consumerism Tools and Databases7 ChronologyGlossaryIndexAbout the Author