A researcher says he has identified several issues — including spending patterns and price gouging — that could effectively cut higher education costs and allow more people from low-income families to benefit.
The study, “Over Invested and Over Priced: American Higher Education Today,” also details inefficiencies in how monies supporting higher education are used and how the higher spending is having a negative effect on graduates.
Dr. Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), a higher education think tank in Washington, D.C., says addressing the 12 issues he has brought up will result in a more efficient higher education system.
“If we worked on improving those 12 points … we would get a system in which the cost (of higher education) wasn’t going up twice the rate of inflation every year,” says Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Ohio University. “College would become a cost that would be easier to bear.”
As the gap in salaries widens between someone with a high school diploma and someone with a degree, Vedder says low-income families are being priced out of better advancement.
The study mentions that because of “fixed” variables — including tenure for faculty and some schools limiting enrollment — some schools miss out on reallocating funds for other needed services.
“The lack of incentives to meet consumer demands and cut costs means change often comes too slowly or rapidly,” the study states.
