By Daniel S. Cheever Jr.
Daniel S. Cheever Jr. is interim president of Simmons College in Boston. Previously, he was president of Wheelock College and of the American Student Assistance Corporation.
Trouble looms for higher education if colleges and universities do not slow their cost increases and improve quality. They can start by answering these basic questions posed by students and parents: First, why does college cost so much? Second, am I getting my money's worth?
True, one cannot generalize about all institutions, and higher education is labor-intensive. Government regulation also adds to expense, as will government cutbacks for financial aid. Colleges have, in fact, reduced annual tuition increases from an average of eight percent in the 1970s and 1980s to six percent in the last two years. Nonetheless, this increase is still twice the annual inflation rate and three times the growth in after-tax disposable family income. The number of freshmen who are worried about how to pay tuition is at an all-time high.
Given that costs are increasing faster than income, students are borrowing to pay tuition in record numbers. Of the $183 billion borrowed in the 30-year history of the federal loan program, 22 percent was borrowed in the last two years.
Students' second questionÑwill I get my money's worth?Ñis hard to answer. A degree at a public four-year college can cost students $30,000 and taxpayers much more, while a private university degree can cost students more than $120,000.
A college graduate, on average, will earn $800,000 more than a high school graduate over a lifetime, but graduate degrees also will be necessary for a real earnings advantage. It is common for law school graduates to have debt of $50,000 and for medical school graduates' debt to exceed $100,000.
Students and parents are also asking for more than a financial justification for their investment. Does a family have the right to expect binge drinking will not be part of the college experience, for example?
Higher education must regain the confidence of the American people. Fulfillment of the American dream depends on it as the avenue to economic success and a successful democracy. Strengthening access for all who qualify, through restructuring that slows down cost increases, must be the goal.
Higher education leaders must take two simple but essential steps. First, faculty members, the heart of any college or university, must develop a commitment to the institution as a whole, not just to their disciplines. Only then can the restructuring occur with faculty leadership.
Second, trustees must hold the institutions accountable. Some boards of trustees have been too easy on their institutions. Many have struggled from one year's compromise to the next year's without achieving long-term fundamental reform.
Faculty members and trustees can learn from students and parents by asking the questions and figuring out the answers. Why do our colleges cost so much? Are students getting their money's worth?