A recent study found that colleges and universities in the US are seemingly engineering their own “meltdown” because of their continuing tuition increases.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) collected data from over 1,500 public and private, nonprofit academic institutions to find out the major cause of tuition inflation.
The organization revealed that institutional spending continues to surge, causing colleges to increase tuition. However, ACTA said such spending “contributed little” to improving four-year graduation rates.
According to ACTA President Michael B. Poliakoff, the spending habits of higher education institutions in the country have yielded very poor results. He also said a proper understanding of these habits can provide important insights to college administrators.
“This report illustrates the implications for students – both financially and academically – of the steady growth in spending since the Great Recession,” he stated in a press release. “It is our hope that public awareness of this trend’s impact on student finances and student outcomes will encourage more prudent choices.”
Other Key Findings
Poliakoff pointed out that colleges are financially unstable not because of decreasing state and federal funding, but due to investments in “bloated administration and student services programs.”
He said such investments keep inflating tuition “while not increasing the most important outcome, which is completion of the degree.”
ACTA disclosed that average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges have increased by 178 percent in the past 30 years. This also became a factor in why 65 percent of students borrow money to fund their education.
‘Colleges Not Doing It Right’
Poliakoff claims that the majority of academic institutions in the country are “not doing it right” when it comes to balancing income and spending.
However, he highlighted examples of colleges that were able to lower administrative expenditures. He cited Purdue University, Arizona State University, and Florida State University as being among schools that have managed to curb spending and keep tuition costs down.
“They need to look towards those positive examples, and their trustees have to be absolutely meticulous… It’s wonderful to spend money on programs and to have new offices, but they have to ask what will be the impact of this,” the ACTA President stressed.