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How does an increase in the College tuition prices affect students?

In the modern world, we are being faced with constant fluctuations in prices of almost everything. This can be attributed to inflation, and the loss in value of currencies. The education is one of those areas that has been affected. The cost of education has been on the rise since time in memorial in the United States. It is estimated that the college tuition prices have increased by 1120% since 1978 (Reaume). This figure is more than the increase in prices that has been observed in the food and medical sector. In fact, Bloomberg reported that, the college tuition price has gone up four times more rapidly than the consumer price index (Reaume). This sudden increase has also outpaced inflation. In 2012. CNN reported that the cost of public education is a little under $6000 while that of private colleges is about $25000 (Thompson). The hikes in tuition fees is alarming but most of the times are unintended. However, they have detrimental consequences to most students because they are unable to meet the cost of education. What are some of the reasons that can be attributed to the increase in the education prices? There are a variety of outcomes that have been felt as a result of the increase in the cost of education. What are some of the effects that have been felt by the students? What alternative forms of education exist? How do they compare with the pre-existing school systems? How does this increase compare to other countries’ cost of education?

Today’s status of both private and public colleges imposes new tuition prices almost every year to students. In most cases students are unable to pay for education at these prices. For this reason, they will be unable to afford to pay for more increases in price. College education is a popular subject among the presidents. For many years college education was not highly price. Most government had subsidized the education systems in their countries. Nonetheless, people wanted to make a better life for themselves and they figured that the only way that they could do this was by making sure that they got an education. As a result, the demand for education rose. Since college has become a necessary commodity these days, the price of attaining a college education is constantly rising, even thought, sometimes the increase in cost is not justified. Some experts have a very strong opinion as to why college education is on a rise, and some believe that it is not on the rise. To begin to understand this issue, we have to first examine the history and the context from which it arose. The tuition has increase every year for globalization, institution policies and government regulations affecting students who does not have the economic resources to pay for it.

There are many assumptions on why the cost of education has risen. The rise of tuition is mainly due in part because the colleges need more money for improvement and to ensure that they are up to date with the latest technology. Most colleges want to be state of the art kind of schools that can attract a lot of students to study there. For this reason, some are have taken the institutions to be more business oriented. Consequently, most colleges have attracted partners into the school boards who are key financiers in projects. They have put up the latest buildings, equipment and are up to date with the technology. The sad part about it is that all these comes at the detriment of the students. For the students to enjoy the cozy nature of this kind of schools, they have to ensure that they pay handsomely for it. After all nothing good comes cheap. In addition to all these, the cost of living is also increasing. The faculty members also expect to take home a good salary that is enough to sustain the family, and ensure that they live a comfortable life. As a result, they expect to be rewarded well for the services that will be rendering in the school. The subordinate staff in the school expect the same. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the school to make enough money to remunerate their employees in the best way possible.

There are also many other reasons why tuition is on the rise though. One administrator once said, “As almost every state reels from the effects of recession and tax cuts, legislatures slash funding for higher education, the largest discretionary item in most state budgets (Salt)” This is also supported by Gallaher, a college administrator who said that “A need to improve facilities, state budgets that are declining and inflation are all contributing to the rising cost of higher education, and there appears to be no end in sight (Gallapher).”

A college education has become the expectation for most youth in the United States who do not have a job. Most of the young people have taken up odd jobs so as to cater for their necessities such as rent, shopping, and groceries. Young people need to further their education by going to college so as to succeed in the modern day economy. Just as the popular saying goes, education is the key to success. The cost of education has been increasing more rapidly than the rate of inflation in the economy in the modern world (Thompson). The increase in the cost of education started in 1960 when the federal government passed the Higher Education Act to increase the amount of people able to afford and attend college. This transformed the way education was viewed by most individuals. It became more of a business since the demand for education had increased. It provided a leeway for people to make more money off the people who wanted to quench their thirst for education. Unfortunately for the majority of Americans the price of an education has become the equivalent to a small house. The steep tuition of a college education has made it an intimidating financial hurdle for middle class families. Regardless of the Unites States Government efforts to increase the affordability of college, federal aid programs have not raised to expectations due to the ever-increasing college prices because their increase is insignificant compared to the colleges increase.

The constant increase in tuition prices that is being observed in the education sector can also contribute to rising cases of school drop outs (Thompson). This is because, these students are unable to afford the tuition fee and everything else becomes so overwhelming for them. If they are unable to make enough money to pay for their courses, or they cannot get enough scholarships and loans, they do not have a choice. As a result, the students opt to drop out (Thompson). In addition to that, most students also push their graduation dates a little bit further. This is because, they opt to take few courses since they are more affordable. This makes them stay in school for a longer time. Thus, later graduations.

An increase in the cost of education has also been attributed to the increase in student loans. The government had taken an initiative of giving students loans so that they can pursue their studies with no pressure of worrying about where they will get the school fees from. They are then encouraged to pay the loan once they have gotten a job. In as much as this move seems like a worthy cause, it is detrimental to students. This is because most of them graduate with hefty debts that they are expected to finance (Thompson). Being novices in the job market, they land themselves jobs that do not attract a hefty salary. They are expected to finance their student loans from the salary they get. This becomes hectic for them. Edvisors have estimated that about 70% of the students in America take loans to finance their studies. These loans are estimated to be of about $33000 which translates to a total of over $1.2 trillion (Reaume). These figures in turn affect the economy because the amount has surpassed the credit card debt that the country holds. This problem does not seem like it will come to an end anytime soon. This is because more students are getting into school and they also require taking a student loan so that they can study. It is estimated that between 2012 and 2013, about $110.3 billion was taken out as student loans (Reaume)

As it was stated earlier, people are different and they have dissimilar family background. Some come from wealthy backgrounds while others are destitute and they can only afford the necessities. For this reason, it has become difficult for people who are less fortunate to be in a better position to study comfortably. Most of them have to take part-time classes so that they can work full time. During the summer, it is not a holiday for them they have to be work so that they can pay up their debts. This has resulted from the increase in the cost of education in the past decades. People have been forced to struggle and work extra hours so as to acquire the education they need in order for them to have a better life. On the other hand, some people are having to forego the huge cost of acquiring an education (Thompson). This is simply because they cannot afford it. Even though the number of college enrollment has increased significantly in the past thirty years, the increase in the cost of education has resulted in a decrease in the number of students that are enrolling for college in the past few years (Thompson). It has been predicted that this trend is likely to continue since the affordability of a college education is becoming difficult by the day. In 2013, the New York Times reported that most colleges predicted that the enrollment rate will decrease in the coming years. This move is conflicting given that a college degree is one of the most vital possessions in the modern world. However, individuals are opting to settle for lesser jobs. In 2012, the Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis conducted a study and they predicted that there was a 0.25% decrease in college enrollment for every $100 that had been added to tuition fee (Thompson).

It is also worth mentioning that some countries offer education for free for their citizens. An example of such a country is Saudi Arabia. The education system in Saudi Arabia is quite wide. Like most countries, the education is provided by both the public and private sectors. In Saudi Arabia, the government has taken it upon themselves to subsidize education and to offer it for free. This begins right from kindergarten. Even so, there are some people who doubt the quality of this type of education. The private sector, on the contrary, provides education in the International schools. Most people say that they offer better quality education since they have to pay for it. The perks of being a citizen of Saudi Arabia are that one is able to acquire an education. This is because it is already paid for. The students will be required to provide the necessities such as the books, pens, and food. This is generally a good move because most of the people in that country will be educated. The general belief in Saudi Arabia is that, education is the key to having a better life for every citizen. For this reason, this country spends about 5.6% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education (Arif). This figure is more than is spend by average countries in the world. This means that, the Saudi Arabian government want to reduce the poverty and illiteracy level in their country.

The country is largely dependent on oil, and most people are relying heavily on this industry. The country has put up over 150 vocational training centers whereby individuals get to learn and later on get jobs (Staff). In addition to that, it has also created so many jobs. The country also approximately 24 universities and the syllabus is more diverse (Arif). This has made it possible for people to acquire education in the country. The best part about it is that they get to graduate without debt because their education is already catered for. The government also offers 5,000 bursaries every year for any student who wants to go and study abroad (Staff). This shows that is much easier for people to acquire a college education in Saudi Arabia because the costs involved are very minimal. Besides, the tuition cost has already been catered for (Arif).

There is overwhelming proof that colleges need to rearrange the way they are run because tuition prices are growing at a very high rate causing changes in the way students pay their education and in the way the government provides educational supports. The increase rapidly price of college tuition is becoming an incredible worry if higher education will be a feasible financial concept to the average citizen today or in the near future. Some families have decided to go over different means of studying and getting a college degree since the price has increased. People are different and not everyone is privileged to earn a college degree without a huge financial sacrifice on the part of the family. It becomes difficult and the students feel pressured especially if the parents took a loan to educate them. As a result, the price for acquiring a college education should be subsidized by the government and other stakeholders. It would be good if all the stakeholders and industries involved stroke a balance to ensure that the people are able to access education. Or better still, the government should increase the amount of money that they are spending on the education sector.

Works Cited Arif, Rehana. Souqalmal Corporation. 23 December 2013. http://www.souqalmal.com/blog/sa-en/cost-of-education-in-saudi-arabia/. 08 May 2015. Gallapher, Freid. Higher education :tuition increases and colleges' efforts to contain costs : report to the Honorable Charles E. Schumer . Washington D.C: House of Representatives , 1998. Document. Reaume, Amanda. USA Today Corporation. 08 Novemeber 2014. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/11/08/credit-dotcom-tuition/18417721/. 08 May 2015. Sallūm, Ḥamad ibn Ibrāhīm, et al. Education in Saudi Arabia. Beltsville, Md. : Amana Publications, 1995. Document. Salt, Reed p.25. DOD education benefitsincreased oversight of Tuition Assistance Program is needed: report to the chairman, subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, federal services, and International Security. Washington D.C: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, 2011. Document. Staff, Classbase. Classbase Corporation. 2012. http://www.classbase.com/Countries/saudi-arabia/Education-System. 08 May 2015. Thompson, Van. Everyday Life Corporation. 2015. http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/tuition-increases-affect-college-students-7007.html. 08 May 2015.