The Recession Hits College Campuses

Reader Comments
Back to article

I am 46 years old and I recently returned to college because I lost my job I had for 26 years. College is extremely expensive, and I do not qualify for grants, so I have to get loans. What are my options at this point. You need an good education to have a chance at getting a job, if and when they ever become available again. I don't understand how the colleges can get away with charging the prices they do. Books alone are ridiculously priced. The economy is a mess, and these schools don't care. They are all about making money and the more people they can get to go to their school, the better for them and too bad for you when you get out of school and are in debt for the rest of your life. Yes, education makes you and society better, but at what cost? Shouldn't colleges at least try to help the economic situation instead of milking it for everything they can?

Denise of NM 3:41PM December 05, 2010

When colleges cut back, there are fewer professors, fewer slots for students, and more competition.
Competition continues to increase.
The rate of college enrollment immediately after high school has increased from 49% in 1972 to 69% in 2005
-- U.S. Department of Education Report on the State of American Education, (5/31/07)
But are students improving in the language skills needed to fill out increasingly difficult college applications, with accompanying essays? Sadly not.
The percentage of 17-year-olds who read almost every day for fun has declined from 31% in 1984 to 22% in 2004.
-- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

Essay Coaching of MI 9:30PM September 29, 2009

If student loans were not shielded from bankruptcy but were dischargeable as other unsecured loans ar THE POOL OF MONEY WOULD DRY UP! this would be a good thing, as i believe college "costs" are largely inflated and sustained in a manner much like the housing bubble. Too much available funds seeking low-risk investment ENABLES colleges to jack up prices to ridiculous levels. And what does the average student get in return? An education that in most cases is no better than an honors high school degree from thirty years ago! My niece went to NYU and got FOUR credits for 150 minutes of class time. Three 50 minute classes used to be worth THREE CREDITS in years past. So now you only get three years of classes for the price of four! Not only is there rampant grad inflation, but the class hours are shrinking like a can of coffee! I say lets do what Charles Murray suggests: Let's initiate a system of CERTIFICATION (like CPA's or para-legals) and do away with college for everyone, which gets more worthless every year.

Tgiradeaux of NY 10:55AM February 03, 2009

There is absolutely no price that can be paid for better, more education, period. Europeans place a great deal more value on education not only for the obvious benefits to the individual but because it also benefits the society and nation in which the higher-, better-educated graduate lives, and this has been proven time and again, over and over by history. It seems that in the US, possibly alone among the Western civilized nations, that enhancing the knowledge of the individual is a matter of derision or contempt. More "honor" is given the person who earns more notwithstanding inferior education such as football players. Absurd! Failed thinking!

J E Masson PhD CTC of FL 2:33PM February 02, 2009

I still say that the guy/gal who makes an entreprenurial end run around "accreditation" and "degrees" with a self-study business that educates and certifies at low cost will be richer than the Google guys.
Turning point? You bet. We need college re-programmed altogether, especially at the undergraduate level.

of 2:52PM January 29, 2009

Over the past 25 years Colleges have been able to do something that no other industry has been able to manage. Increase price above inflation rates by several points most years, and actually see increased demand. In 1980 about 7% of the population had a four year degree. Today it is about 25%. It has been a great racket.

tom gallagher of OH 1:06PM January 29, 2009

The stimulus package and the increase in tuition above the inflation rate will keep the colleges in the black. The universities will continue to offer top dollar for the students they want to attract. Parents should not hesitate to file for financial aid regardless of their income level.

Tuition Funding Solutions of CA 12:34PM January 29, 2009