Yesterday the Charleston Gazette published an editorial about the problem of skyrocketing college costs – an unusual topic for a West Virginia newspaper given that Governor Manchin held all in-state public higher education institution tuition rates flat this past year.
The long-term higher education trend, however, is highly unfavorable with tuition rates increasing far more quickly than inflation, including health care inflation. A recent report by the Goldwater Institute says administrative bloat, which has increased significantly over the years, is a large part of the problem nationally. The report says the number of college administrators per 100 students increased by 39 percent between 1973 and 2007. While the analysis can be criticized for lumping some quasi-administrative jobs in the mix, the Goldwater Institute is on to something.
What about Capital projects? Most every college campus I know of has increased the number of buildings five-fold in the past few decades. College presidents seem to measure their success via the number of new-building projects happening on campus.
Anxiously awaiting “The cost of education: Part Dos.”