Question

In this module we learned that, despite increases in the cost, the value of higher education has increased over time. How can college be made more affordable? Revenues earned by colleges and universities come from three main sources: Tuition and fees paid by students, which have increased faster than the cost of living. Support from governments at the federal, state and local levels. This support is paid for through tax revenues. Even private colleges and universities obtain funding from the government, but government support has declined at all levels in recent years. Alumni contributions. What has caused the cost of college to increase so much? (Not every college has a fancy gym or an Olympic sized pool with a lazy river.) What features of your college education would you be willing to do without to make college more affordable? What do you propose should be done to make higher education more affordable? What reasons can you provide to support your argument? (200 words minimum)

Answer 1

The US spends around $30000/student every year on education, and it is double the average cost of a developed nation. US education is the highest expensive globally, and rising student loans have become a big issue in the US. The expert raised the questions about how we can make it more affordable and how to reduce the debt burden. There are many reasons behind the increasing cost of education in the US. The first cause is the demand factor. The American education is the best in the world . The US has several world-class universities, or can say that most of the top universities are US universities or institutes. These institutions have a unique identity in the world. Because of these reasons, the demand for US universities admission has increased rapidly. To be more specific, the Department of Education has seen about 19.9 million students in 2019-2020 academic year. Increasing demand has increased cost (price) rapidly. The second reason is increasing operating costs. The US universities have modernized themselves and try to keep their education system & quality as per the market demand. The other price, wages, and capitalization costs increased rapidly. The third reason is the decreasing state contribution of state funding that increases universities' burden, and universities have increased fees. But we are demanding the following features of your college education would you be willing to do without to make college more affordable like increasing spending and modernization of labs, more focus on practical activities, lunching new courses that are the demand of market or corporate world, making education more realistic and focus on R&D more. Another side I will recommend to make higher education more affordable is- Increasing state funding and alumni funding. The Universities or institutes should work as a non-profit organization and focus on social welfare more. Universities should take care of every class of American society, help the weaker section of the community, and provide more scholarship options. Government should make the education loan more affordable and easily accessible and give subsidies to the poor students. If the education system gets more expensive regularly, it will increase income inequality in America and decrease social welfare. It will negatively affect the US economy worst in the long run. The US should more focus on social justice and equality.