Raising Tuition Rates

“ ‘You have this dramatically increased demand for higher education coupled with a decreased capacity of governments to fund the sector,’ says D. Bruce Johnstone, a professor of education leadership and policy at the State University of New York at Buffalo.” If there is increased demand for higher education and decreased funding to provide it, then why bar so many students from paying some money to attend? Rising cost prevents a large portion of students from attending college and leave only the students who are more well off to pay for their education. You can either have lower admission with a higher price, or more admission with lower price. In the end, you end up with the same amount of money, but a much higher amount of educated students. According to Lazar Vlasceanu, deputy

“State efforts to cap or freeze tuition, meanwhile, may do little to dampen the forces driving tuition up and simply set the stage for exceptionally large tuition increases as soon as the restrictions are lifted”(Smith). In their attempts at lowering the costs of tuition and guaranteeing a flat rate throughout a students four years of education, the lawmakers create a substantial spike in education costs over time. Many colleges are even raising tuition rates much faster than the inflation rate, which in turn pulls a higher education out of reach of those less privileged. William R. Bowes, vice chancellor for fiscal affairs of the University System of Georgia said “We had to put enough of a bump in that tuition so that we could cover costs estimated over a four-year period.” Not only are the college tuition rates rising as restrictions are lifted, but the price of tuition is also being raised as a means of covering the costs of these restrictions. Universities are cheating the system to suck more money right out from under the students without them ever