2008 Woodie Awards
Tuition increase unsatisfactory
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Editorial
Annual tuition increases have become as much a part of DePauw as Boulder runs and late-night GCBs from Marvin's. The reasons for each year's increase are seemingly sensible and necessary - but that doesn't mean we have to like them. However, our grievances aren't soley focused on DePauw.
The University is by no means unusual in its price hikes. That isn't to say that the situation is OK, rather that it's part of larger systemic flaws in higher education. Ever-increasing prices for things like health care and gasoline are treated as minor economic catastrophes, warranting attention from political figures and the mass media. Rising education costs have earned some wider attention, but have yet to be recognized as one of the top concerns for America's young people.
College and university administrators should recognize that tuition inflation may come back to haunt them if action is not taken in the near future. Financial aid and increased recruiting of wealthy families can only keep pace for so long. At some point, the cost of going to a college of DePauw's caliber will begin to exclude intelligent, capable prospective students who can't afford or can't justify the price tag. In addition to the obvious inequality that would arise from such a trend, universities' own financial situations could suffer in the long term: less capable students create fewer rich alumni, which in turn create less alumni giving.
No newspaper's editorial could begin to suggest where the policy solution to this problem will be found, but like all important issues, a wider, more public dialogue is the first step.
The University is by no means unusual in its price hikes. That isn't to say that the situation is OK, rather that it's part of larger systemic flaws in higher education. Ever-increasing prices for things like health care and gasoline are treated as minor economic catastrophes, warranting attention from political figures and the mass media. Rising education costs have earned some wider attention, but have yet to be recognized as one of the top concerns for America's young people.
College and university administrators should recognize that tuition inflation may come back to haunt them if action is not taken in the near future. Financial aid and increased recruiting of wealthy families can only keep pace for so long. At some point, the cost of going to a college of DePauw's caliber will begin to exclude intelligent, capable prospective students who can't afford or can't justify the price tag. In addition to the obvious inequality that would arise from such a trend, universities' own financial situations could suffer in the long term: less capable students create fewer rich alumni, which in turn create less alumni giving.
No newspaper's editorial could begin to suggest where the policy solution to this problem will be found, but like all important issues, a wider, more public dialogue is the first step.
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