For a long time, college tuition increased at a faster pace than inflation, and while the causes are certainly multifactorial, one seems to stick out like a sore thumb: student aid.
The quality of education is difficult to govern by market forces because of the distance of feedback between inputs and outcomes. The Ivy Leagues obviously provide a very clear return on investment for the individual. And college as a whole results in higher wages and can pay for itself within the first 10 years. But there is a correlation/causation problem. Are wages higher because of college, or because smart people tend to go to college, and earn higher wages no matter what? I would argue that college should be thought of as having four functions:
1. Economic
2. Social
3. Political
4. Religious
For the economic function, college is fairly inefficient. For the cost of tuition, most students would learn more from private tutors.
For the social function, college is becoming less efficient. The decline of fraternities, sororities, and in-person classes has made college less social.
For the political function, college may be be becoming more "efficient," in the sense that it is better at indoctrinating students with political views they did not previously hold. This is a bad thing for conservatives. It could be argued, however, that college in the 1960s was more efficient than college today. This is an area that I need to do more research in.
For the fourth function, this overlaps almost entirely with the political function now that most colleges are secular.
From the perspective of the individual, the benefits of college are highly variable. From the perspective of society as a whole, college is a necessary part of promoting social, political, and religious cohesion. Whether or not college is effective at achieving this depends on an assessment of liberalism as an ideology.
The quality of education is difficult to govern by market forces because of the distance of feedback between inputs and outcomes. The Ivy Leagues obviously provide a very clear return on investment for the individual. And college as a whole results in higher wages and can pay for itself within the first 10 years. But there is a correlation/causation problem. Are wages higher because of college, or because smart people tend to go to college, and earn higher wages no matter what? I would argue that college should be thought of as having four functions:
1. Economic
2. Social
3. Political
4. Religious
For the economic function, college is fairly inefficient. For the cost of tuition, most students would learn more from private tutors.
For the social function, college is becoming less efficient. The decline of fraternities, sororities, and in-person classes has made college less social.
For the political function, college may be be becoming more "efficient," in the sense that it is better at indoctrinating students with political views they did not previously hold. This is a bad thing for conservatives. It could be argued, however, that college in the 1960s was more efficient than college today. This is an area that I need to do more research in.
For the fourth function, this overlaps almost entirely with the political function now that most colleges are secular.
From the perspective of the individual, the benefits of college are highly variable. From the perspective of society as a whole, college is a necessary part of promoting social, political, and religious cohesion. Whether or not college is effective at achieving this depends on an assessment of liberalism as an ideology.