The Cost of Education
Introduction
The cost of education has spiraled higher in the recent past, and this trend is not surging down anytime soon. However, the impacts of the high cost of education have restricted a majority of academically potential students in the cold as having no chance to compete for some top-rated Colleges and Universities. Notably, the middle-class has been hit so hard by the rising cost of education since they are not capable of funding their children’s education in the prestigious Colleges, and at the same time not so poor to have the necessary merit for the education subsidies. However, a few students who are either intellectually gifted or talented have been awarded lucrative scholarships that aid their education in these institutions.
Cost of College Education and Changing Economic Factors
Principally, the rise in the cost of education is congruent with the changing economic tides of the country and the word at large. Indeed, the USA as a country has marked a significant level of inflation thereby pushing the prices of basic and tertiary commodities to the periphery. Education is a secondary want that every child should have, and its cost depends on various parameters that either directly or indirectly influence its delivery. Therefore, the rising cost of education is directly correlated with other economic factors which occur within the general spheres of the country. Inflation is thus a major factor that has triggered the cost of education and other facilities that aid in this process (Ehrenberg, 2002). Moreover, contributory factors have led to higher cost of education since complementary and supplementary commodities have had their prices hiked in the current generation.
There is a significant variation in the cost of education over a given span of time. Thus, the cost of education is not the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. Surprisingly, the escalating cost of education has even come with higher demands and aggression by the citizens to acquire this precious want. Principally, the outstanding loan debt for students pursuing College and University education stands at $1.2 trillion today. This cost is subject to changes, and the projections have it that it might shoot even higher.
Various cost elements constitute to this high cost, and the most notable element refers to the tuition fees. In fact, tuition fees account for the highest percentage regarding the overall education cost. This cost element is divided into different categories depending on the administrative system and planning of a given college. In this regards, tuition fees is the most volatile element of education fees since it changes significantly over time (Archibald, & Feldman, 2011).
Statistics generated by the College Board indicate that an indicative amount of $9,139 was espoused as tuition fees in the Public Institutions and this applied to the In-state students. On the other hand, an amount totaling to $22,598 was levied on out-state students as the tuition fees. On the other hand, the average cost for tuition fees was significantly higher on private Universities totaling to $31,231 (Patton, 2015). So, one would ask about the future cost of education in the coming four years, or perhaps in the next decades.
Pragmatically, a simple arithmetic could be worked out to establish the cost of education in the coming years based on the base figures tabulated above. Indeed, the trend of education cost has been established in the USA, with varied fugues calculated based on the inflation index in the education sector. In this regards, a projected estimate of the tuition fees in the public colleges and Universities is estimated to shoot to about $39,508 for an in-state student studying a four-year degree course. On the same note, the cost of education for an out-of-state student would be $97,690, while the same cost would shoot to $135,010 for a student studying in a private university.
These projections are considered after consolidating tuition fees and the inflation factors in a span of 22 years. Indeed, the revelation of the changing cost of education is a clear indication that education would not get any cheaper in future (Wadsworth, 2000).
Another indicator of the high cost of education relates to the variation in the inflation rates within a country. In the USA alone, the rate of inflation has pushed the prices of basic commodities and services by a wider margin. This trend has had a spiral effect on the education sector that integrates some of these services. For example, the statistics show that the total inflation rates between 1994 and 2015 increased at an average rate of 2.3%, with an indicative average inflation rate of 3.7% experienced in the healthcare sector. On the other hand, the educations sector witnessed the highest inflation rate indicated at 5.2%. This average forms the basis for calculating the tuition fees over a given timeframe. Moreover, the basis for calculating these costs helps in predicting measures that would help the poor and the middle-class meet their education demands.
Conclusion
With rising cost of college education, the country is under an obligation to instigate measures that would cushion certain demographic groups against these high costs. For instance, cutting down on the tuition fees for the needy students would help them acquire their degrees and diplomas cheaply. Moreover, lack of basic education is a deterrent to the social standing of a country, and the USA would go to the lower ranks of uneducated countries. Besides, less education implies a country’s inability to compete on the global scale, thereby dwindling its fortunes on the global market. Thus, proper subsidies must be entrenched to ensure that every deserving student has acquired proper and a quality education.
References
Archibald, R. B., & Feldman, D. H. (2011). Why does college cost so much?. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ehrenberg, R. G. (2002). Tuition rising: Why college costs so much. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Patton, M.(2015). The Cost Of College: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Full Bio Publishers
Wadsworth, G. (2000). Cost effective college: Creative ways to pay for college and stay out of debt. Chicago: Moody Press.
