There’s much blame to around for the student loan debt crisis, but today I want to take a different angle on this as I’m not hearing many people talk about this.
Simply stated, there is no accountability from the colleges and universities.
Most people know the cost of tuition in the United States has gone up substantially more than salaries the last 30-40 years.
To really understand this, we really have to dive into the College system itself. Most colleges and universities charge exorbitant tuition have massive, massive endowment funds and I mean massive. There are at least 40 or 50 schools with endowments in the billions. My question is, why on earth is tuition so high?
These are just my thoughts on why.
For one, the universities can. We’ve been sold this idea that college is the only way to success. But we see more and more people graduating with huge debts, low salaries and delaying things like home purchases.
Another thing to think about is we’re not being taught personal finance when we’re younger. This is a life skill, and our kids need to learn basic personal finance. It’s not being taught in most high schools too.
Another reason is how colleges operate. There’s too much wasteful spending.
Every time I visit a school, they always seem to be tearing down a building and building pretty much the exact same thing.
I also question whether colleges employ too much faculty. From my experience, most professors are far more interested in their research and less in whether students are learning. That’s great for the school, not so great for the students. I’ve heard the argument that this hands-off approach helps students transition into the real world but I’m not buying it. Just to be clear I’m not advocating for elimination of academic research, but the focus of college needs to be around the student.
Now, what’s the solution to this? IMO, students need to pay off their loans. In any event where large defaults look imminent, and something has to be done, the colleges need to pick up the cost not the American taxpayer. Also, we need to stop selling the idea that college is the only path to success. A college degree doesn’t guarantee a job right out of school.
We need to emphasize hard work, creativity. We need a favorable environment for small business.
Thanks