by Justin Clatworthy

The value of a college education is undeniable. However, the cost to attend college has been steadily increasing over the last few decades. The cost has increased more than four times faster than inflation in that same period of time. Some university’s tuition has risen to over $60,000 a year for a four year degree.

 The returns on the large cost of attending college vary depending on the degree that someone earns. A person that graduates with a degree in computer science is likely to make more than $1.7 million more than someone with no degree over the course of 20 years. The opposite of this is that a person with a degree in humanities and English will be more than $132,000 behind someone with no degree over that same span of time. It is believed that if universities had a greater incentive in the success of their students after graduation they would push them to more financially satisfying degrees. This discrepancy would possibly begin to correct itself if the job market were to improve.

 Another way to improve this discrepancy is to lower the overall cost of college. One of the main reasons that the price has increased so much is that tuition is going to things other than education. These include new dormitories, athletics, and numerous administrators. Another method that is starting to be used to lower the cost of college is online classes. The downside to online courses is that many American universities do not give respectable degrees to those students that took online courses.

“Making College Cost Less.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 05 Apr. 2014. Web. <http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21600120-many-american-universities-offer-lousy-value-money-government-can-help-change>.