College Tuition Costs

College tuitions are on the rise and is increasing every year, all we know is for certain that we must pay them off, but is there an easier way?

According to Colleges’ Calc,in a 2015-2016 academic school year report, tuition at Lock Haven was $7.4k for in-state and $16.7k for out-of-state. According to Lock Haven’s cost and tuition page, in a 2019-2020 listing, in-state tuition rose to $7.7k and out-of-state rose to $17.2k, a near $300 and $500 increase. It is easy to think that the prices of college and most other things should increase as time goes on because of inflation, but inflation has been dropping for the past 4-5 years. Inflation in 2016 was at 2.1% and again in 2017, but then in 2018 and 2019, inflation dropped to 1.9% and 1.7%. So, if inflation is not the issue, what is?

Speculation so far is the only thing we have to forward into what is the actual problem and cause of the increase in tuition. Keeping colleges “Nice and New” is a business strategy mostly known to use. Having a college that displays cleanliness and organization is a big factor when choosing a university, and they really try to live up to this name.

Then, it travels into what we most likely overlook, the increase and overall pay of professors. Our professors have been through the same process we are traveling through right now and they want their pay to reflect all their efforts.

Lastly, student aid has allowed students to receive more for colleges, estimated from 1987 to 2010. Doesn’t it sound like a good thing; the more students that have access to help and assistance the better? According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, since students are receiving more student aid, colleges can charge more. Basically countering what we are trying to do in the first place, and digging out the very bottom of our dream low-cost college house we are trying to build up.

Education was recorded and decided to ride on the backs of their states, and for most, if not all cause and effects of each school system, this idea holds true. From the recession and on college tuition has been hit incredibly hard and seems to crack ever so, each year. This requires the federal government to called to begin their plan to patch up the very ridge lines that can consume further generations. From an article by the Learning English website, here lies what our past and present presidential candidates believed was the correct course of action.

From 2016, we saw Clinton’s education plan revolving around the federal government giving grants to states in order to fund and help college students with a $350 billion-dollar estimate, over a 10-year course.

According to Learning English, N. Gregory Mankiw, a Harvard professor, suggested that Clinton’s plan will be simply a waste of money, and in turn help the wealthier families because they usually borrow the most.

According to Slate Magazine, Trump proposed an agreement with congress to pressure institutions make “large endowments” for college students to make up for not using taxes. This pressure would come with downside, this downside being these institutions would “face a loss of their tax-exempt status.”

From potentially wasting a ton of money to pressuring and nearly threatening our own companies and institutions to give money, we look for 2020’s presidential candidates for more appealing answers.

It is known that Biden wants borrowers to not make payments on their loans, these payments would occur until they are earning at least $30,000. “Loans should not accumulate interest before borrowers begin earning that amount”.

Then, Senator Booker Introduced a bill that would create a $1,000 account for every natural born citizen to begin to save for college to save for college.

Pete Buttigieg stated his support for expanding loan forgiveness for public servants, but he does not stand for whipping away debts, believing that will cause even more problems. Buttigieg proposal’s for the increase “the number of service opportunities available to students to 250,000.

Julian Castro, Trump’s rep,  supports making the first two years of college, certification programs, and apprenticeships free.

Kamala Harris stated,“she would invest money into Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to address underrepresentation of teachers of color. Harris is in support of free public two- or four-year college implemented through federal/state partnership”.

Bernie Sanders proposes an expansion of the Federal Work-Study program and will have the Wall Street speculation fee fund the program.

Andrew Yang allow students to opt into a plan to repay it through pledging 10% of their salary per year for 10 years, after which the balance would be forgiven. Yang said he believes student debt discharge should be allowed under bankruptcy.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the Department of Education as a whole, and specifically to student financial aid programs. His fiscal year 2018 budget proposal for example, would have cut about $150 billion from federal student aid programs over 10 years.

William Weld has emphasized using online education as a method to cut down on room and board costs.