Christodoss 1

Esther Christodoss

Leigh Ann Moore

ENGL 1302.08

30 April 2017

College Tuition: The Real Cost

In the last few years, many reforms have been made to improve the state of our nation.

U.S leaders have made legislative moves to better institutions like health, the effects of poverty,

and other large issues. However, a problem that has not been as addressed as it should be is the

high college tuition costs that trouble college students today. According to a study on the aspects

of college tuition, public tuition is driven by the availability of grants, the level of state

appropriations, and is negatively related to enrollment (Doyle 4). Though presidents like former

President Obama have wanted to lower college tuition costs with reform, the critical situation

college students have been enduring for decades has always been drowned out by issues deemed

more prominent and important by society. When the future of Americas workforce and society is

at risk of being lowered in quality, it is crucial to make reforms before it is too late. U.S

Legislators should pass a bill that addresses the need for alleviation of the costs of college tuition

because these costs cause students to lower their academic expectations, negatively affecting the

quality of the U.Ss workforce.

Most of the history of the U.S has involved leaders passing bills that would, hopefully,

lead up to a positive change in the issue they regard. The issue of college tuition costs is no

different; it can eventually be solved by methodically writing and passing a bill. Former

President Obama had wanted to pass a bill regarding the issue of college tuition, laying down a

goal that by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in
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the world ("College Tuition and Student Debt). Though it may not be possible for a bill to

make a change immediately, over time the costs of college tuition could be alleviated and the

future of America will be ensured to be improved for many generations to come.

If the bill were to be made, it would have to address several different issues. For example,

in some colleges, college tuition prices rise 3.5 percent higher than the rate of inflation

(Ehrenberg 3). Also, because of the high costs of college, about two-thirds of graduates take out

loans with an average student debt of over $23,000. This debt is particularly burdensome for

graduates who choose to enter lower-paying public service careers, suffer setbacks such as

unemployment or serious illness, or fail to complete their degree (College Tuition and Student

Debt). There are many large financial issues surrounding college tuition costs such as the rate it

is rising, the way spending is allocated toward it, and other issues that are associated with a lack

of organization and reform. Writing even a decent bill that would bring immediate aid to this

issue would be difficult, as having economic issues resolved speedily could potentially have

negative repercussions in the future. Legislators would have to come up with a bill that slowly

but surely lowers the cost of college tuition and brings help to students who struggle with loans

associated with it.

Something that could bring this issue to light and make U.S leaders look at the issue more

closely would be college students themselves making a public statement, such as a protest or

petition signing. If the people going through the issues surrounding high college tuition could

make a mark on the nation, U.S leaders will have to at least have some greater acknowledgement

for the issue and make further strides to create a bill that will help solve the issue. While over the

years there have been legislators and leaders bringing the issue up, without a large-scale

movement, the issue will continue to drown in the pool of different problems society faces in this
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day and age. The severity of this problem will only increase over time, so it is up to students to

take hold of their own futures and the futures of generations to come.

A boundary to passing this bill would be the long process involved in getting even a

single bill passed. Bills in the branches of government have to go through a lengthy process of

being proposed, revised through different sections of the legislative branch, etc. in order to be put

into effect. With this long process and the low exposure for the issues surrounding high college

tuition, it will be difficult for a tuition-alleviating bill to be passed. However, if the importance of

the lowering of college tuition costs is more publicized, there will be more incentive to have a

proper bill written and put through the process of getting it passed. The government will be

pressured by societal outcries to make a change, and since the U.S government will have to

eventually respond to the issues concerning its people, it will eventually take action. It may take

years and years for the issue to finally be put at ease, but time cannot be wasted when it comes to

protecting the future of an entire nation.

Some argue that the reason college tuition is so high relates to the way institutions of

higher education allocate their funding, and change should be focused on this area of the

problem. Colleges may direct their funding to acquire useful material to assist students in their

learning endeavors, paying salary to staff members, maintenance costs, and many other

important parts of a colleges budget. However, it is debatable whether colleges are allocating all

their funding to the right places. It is stated in an article regarding financial allocation of

institutions of higher education that academic institutions have changed how they allocate their

resources. The share of institutional expenditures going to faculty salaries and benefits in both

public and private institutions has fallen (Ehrenberg 5). Rather than financing more pressing

matters, some of their money goes toward competitive student activities, and competition for
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the best students means increased spending on nonacademic budget items, such as lifestyle

amenities and high-profile sports programs. These, in turn, drive up tuition rates (Ciment).

Though getting rid of these programs would help alleviate college tuition costs, it would also

reduce the morale of colleges. There are students who are striving to achieve the very best in

what they do, and it is important for colleges to support these students in their goals. Without

these programs, many students would be neglected and deprived of what they enjoy.

A portion of people may also argue that the U.S should look at other countries that do not

have their college students pay as much as they would have to if they were in this country. In

some countries, higher education is financed by the state, thus relieving students of the financial

burden (Jagesic). However, a system like this comes with its problems. Due to how accessible

to the public their higher education is, these countries will face overcrowding in their higher

education system, making students have to wait a significant amount of time before they are able

to finish their degrees (Jagesic). While this system may work to an extent in these countries, the

U.S is vastly different from them and may not adapt well to the changes that would be associated

with this system.

In conclusion, alleviating college debt will be a difficult task. There are many other issues

that legislators will place above the importance of ensuring the success of Americas future.

However, with enough effort from U.S leaders and the college students going through the issues

surrounding college debt, moves will be made to save the U.S from collapse. Legislation in the

form of bills should be written in order to eventually solve this ongoing crisis, no matter how

lengthy and inconvenient the process may be. The nation needs to realize how important it is to

be able to afford higher education. If this issue is not addressed, the next generation of workers

will not be as strong as the generation that preceded it. There will continue to be a divide
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between what students and what the rest of the nation prioritizes (Khan 1). Our focus should be

not on current workers, but the ones who will take their place; without a change, there is no

telling what will become of this nation. The U.S leaders that will be responsible for the lower

quality of the next workforce should be the ones to take a stand for not only college students, but

the entire nation.

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Works Cited

Ciment, James. "College Tuition and Student Debt." Culture Wars in America: An Encyclopedia

of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices, edited by Roger Chapman, and James Ciment,

Routledge, 2013. Credo Reference,

http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sharpecw/college_tuition_and_student_de

bt/0. Accessed 27 Feb 2017.

"College Tuition and Student Debt: Primary Documents." Culture Wars in America: An

Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices, edited by Roger Chapman, and James

Ciment, Routledge, 2013. Credo Reference,

http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sharpecw/college_tuition_and_student_de

bt_primary_documents/0. Accessed 27 Feb 2017.

Doyle, William R. "The Politics of Public College Tuition and State Financial Aid." Journal of

Higher Education, vol. 83, no. 5, Sep/Oct2012, pp. 617-647. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=78292119&site=ehost-live.

Ehrenberg, Ronald G. "American Higher Education in Transition." Journal of Economic

Perspectives, vol. 26, no. 1, Winter2012, pp. 193-216. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1257/jep.26.1.193.

Jagesic, Sanja. "Education, Higher." Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia, edited by

Christopher G. Bates, and James Ciment, Routledge, 2013. Credo Reference,

http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sharpesi/education_higher/0. Accessed 27

Feb 2017.

Khan, Salman. "What College Could Be Like." Communications of the ACM, vol. 56, no. 1, Jan.

2013, pp. 41-43. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1145/2398356.2398370.