The study also found that, while tuition is becoming a more important source of revenue for many colleges, the amount of money spent on classroom instruction isn't keeping up with the pace. Between 1998-2005, the amount of money earmarked for direct instructional spending increased by a mere 3.2 percent per student, less than one-tenth of the increase in median tuition revenue over the same period.
With the credit crunch created by the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the nation's largest lending institutions, and a lingering recession, more students (by some estimates, almost a quarter of all undergraduates) are being forced to pay for their tuition in plastic. But paying for college by credit card carries substantial risks, such as high interest rates and mounting debt. Already, a typical degree comes with a $9,000 postgraduation credit card bill.
In order to control the escalating cost of college tuition and keep our nation's future intelligentsia from being priced out of higher learning, elected officials must make college more affordable and more accessible. Not just for America's economic elite, but for all students, regardless of income.
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Most importantly, our country's leaders must recognize the value of a college education, both to individual welfare and American prosperity. It's a kind of value that can't be measured in dollars alone, but must be gauged by the changes in attitude that result from edifying the public.
Sure, the United States may spend more money on college education, per student, than any other industrialized nation. What good is that investment, however, if the only people popping the cork on Graduation Day are wealthy socialites, for whom a degree brings little more than a boost in self-esteem?