Increased Tuition in the US

Tuition increases in the U.S. have been causing controversy since shortly after World War II.

It was during a time when the workforce was slow from the aftermath of the war and higher education was becoming a need in order to pursue more knowledge in hopes of finding successful, stable careers. Many families went into debt in order to pay for their children to attend college. With the exception of its military academies, the U.S. federal government does not directly support higher education. Instead it offers loans and grants, dating back to the Morrill Act during the U.S. Civil War and the "G.I. Bill" programs applied after World War II.

The United States has one of the most expensive higher education systems in the world. Public colleges have no control over the state, a major revenue source. Private colleges increased their tuition by an average of 3.9% in 2012 to 1013, the smallest rise in four decades, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. The most expensive university, in terms of tuition and fees alone, is currently Columbia University in New York, at $47,246, according to the US News and World Report.

One cause of increased tuition is the reduction of state and federal appropriations to state colleges, causing the institutions to shift the cost over to students in the form of higher tuition. State support for public colleges and universities has fallen by about 26% per full time student since the early 1990s. In 2011 American public universities took in more revenue from tuition than state funding. About 80% of American college students attend public institutions. In a financial bubble, assets like houses are sometimes purchased with a view to reselling at a higher price, and this...

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...crease at public colleges and a third of the increase at private colleges."

Kantrowitz' study also found that "Complying with the increasing number of regulations, in particular, with the reporting requirements, adds to college costs," therefore contributing to a rise in tuition to pay for these additional costs. Since deregulation, the average cost of tuition and fees at the state’s public universities has increased by 90%, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Of the 181 members of the state’s 83rd Legislature, more than 50 have voted at least once to advance efforts to end tuition deregulation, while fewer than 20 have consistently voted to uphold it. Many have never voted on the issue, and more than 40 members are freshmen. This rise, however, is not entirely negative. Tuition increases help universities make up for that in their budgets.