Response to Tuition cost

I read an article about Tuition Costs critique by Aaron Taylor Bonnette.  This article describes how tuition has increased over the years.  While there is an increase in tuition and fees, there is a decline in college enrollment.  According to recent studies, most people out of college with a bachelor’s degree only make about $45,000 a year.  Due to low paying careers and student debts most students feel overwhelmed upon graduation.  Some cannot even find a job upon completing their degree.  Thus, some people wonder whether pursuing a degree is even worthy all the hassle.  All they are left with in the end is a low paying job and a high student debt.

The article argues that one reason for the increase in tuition is due to an increase in hired faculty and staff at the universities.  With an increase in faculty size, the universities must increase tuition in order to compensate their faculty.  Bonnette recommends that the state and national government provide more funding to universities and provide more scholarships and grants for perspective students in order to give everyone a chance to get the education they deserve. 

While Bonnette’s argument is good, I think that there are other reasons for the decline in enrollment.  Jennifer Ma, a policy research scientist for the College Board stated that lower enrollments mostly reflect a better economy, which lured students into the workforce and away from colleges and universities. 

It must be stated that a large majority of students in college are not those in the traditional age group of 18 to 24.  In fact, a large majority of learners are made of older people.  An article by the American council on education indicated that traditional age students are now the minority and older people are no the majority.  Thus, it is not surprising that these older people are choosing to go back to the work force instead of school since the economy is getting better again.

In addition, a study done in 2008 by academic treatises analyzed the relationship between tuition and enrollment.  They concluded that tuition increases had little impact on enrollment.  They noted that there was a connection between enrollment and unemployment rates.  In fact, credit hour enrollment grew slightly as the unemployment rate increased; it looks like students seek education when jobs are scarce.

The national student clearinghouse research center agrees that it is a natural trend for college enrollment to increase when the economy is not doing well.  In other words being unemployed pushed people to return to school, but now that the economy is showing encouraging signs, enrollment is decreasing as people return to the job market.

http://college.lovetoknow.com/High_Cost_of_Tuition_Causing_Decreased_College_Enrollment