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The Effect of State Budget Cuts and Growing Tuition in American Colleges

Across the past thirty years policymakers have been dedicating less and less money to the

public colleges and universities in the U.S. In the aftermath, the public schools are forced to

increase the students’ tuition to pay the difference. Furthermore, the declining funds have also

contributed to decreasing quality on campuses because colleges have had to balance their

budgets by reducing faculty, limiting course offerings, and bringing in more out of state students

(Mitchell, Michael., Leachman, Michael., and Masterson, Kathleen.). Tuitions are still

questionably high in the U.S., especially in comparison to other developed countries. In fact, one

third of the world’s developed countries has tuition under $2400 dollars a year and another third

have free tuition (Ripley). Additionally, while researching the recent increase in tuition in the

public schools around the U.S. it has become very apparent that the majority of public colleges

funding and spending is spent on nonteaching staff instead of resources for the students, which is

very diverse from every other country (Ripley). Additionally, these popular schools are making it

the norm to operate more as a business and to focus on bringing in revenue and selling the brand

instead on focusing on the students’ financial and academic needs. Most people believe that

going to college is necessary to be considered smart and make good money, but according to

Hillary Hoffower from Business Insider, one third of college graduates are underemployed and

thirteen percent have low-paying jobs, so is it still worth it to go to college?

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American middle-class families are usually either too wealthy for their kids to qualify for

a major federal higher education grant, or they earn too little to pay for the full cost of most

colleges. Dr. Caitlin Zaloom’s study revealed that most parents feel like it’s their responsibility

to pay for their kids’ college, like a “moral obligation” that they have to their child. Parents want

their children to have a better life and succeed; in most cases this means that the parents take out

of their savings or go into debt trying to put their kids through college. Moreover, less than five

percent of Americans even have a college savings account (Zaloom). So, if the parents never

save up for these big expenses then how do they pay for the education? Furthermore, without

these savings accounts and without the parents help in some cases the students are the ones that

have to pay for the tuition. When young adults take on this big price tag, they often have to have

financial help like loans, grants, and scholarships. Even after all the help, tuition is almost twice

the amount of the average developed country (Ripley). Additionally, students that graduate with

debt will ultimately be set back in life compared to their peers because after college they will

have debt have to pay off before investing in other big life expenses such as purchasing a house

or having kids. Most families believe that “a college education (can) help their children obtain

better jobs and earn higher wages—improving the chances for upward economic mobility” but

sometimes the college degree that was going to bring success can bring debt and disappointment.

In fact, more than 45 million Americans have student loan debt (Hoffower). Some Americans

believe that attending college isn’t always the only answer to being successful. Additionally,

there are apprenticeships, the workforce, and the military, when it comes to making money and

getting a good job there are plenty of opportunities out there. In contrast, some argue that college

degrees have lost their value, there are many debates nationwide about the value of college

degrees in today’s economy. Many parents still believe that their kids should go to college
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despite rising prices and the growing competition. In fact, “national debates about the value of a

college degree do not appear to have swayed parental views” (Terri Friedline, et al.).

Varying state budgets have affected the tuition costs of both public universities and

community colleges. According to Gail Mellow, the President of LaGuardia Community College

and an expert on the history, development, and future of the American community colleges, “as

states have slashed higher education’s funding, the price of attending public colleges has risen

significantly faster than what families can afford.” Moreover, most colleges operate like a

business instead of a teaching institution and usually when a business is failing or not financially

stable, the people will start to notice. Additionally, the public doesn’t see that the colleges are

desperate for more applicants and revenue. Instead, the public sees a big building that brings

success. Many studies suggested that the big state budget cuts are even affecting the local

community colleges. Community colleges are meant to make education more affordable for

students of all backgrounds. According to Mellow, “community colleges were founded to

promote the idea that college should be accessible for everyone.” Unfortunately, across the U.S.

state funding for higher education, like colleges and universities, has fallen to an average of

$1,448 per student, or in other words 16 percent, after regulating for inflation over the ten-year

period following the 2008 recession (Mellow). The average household student debt is about

$25,000 according to Beth Akers, a former Brookings expert. “In places where higher education

has not been gutted and the cost of living is low, an American college degree can still be a

bargain—especially for students who don’t mind living at home and are poor enough to qualify

for federal aid” (Ripely). It’s not uncommon to hear about students having the burden of paying

for their colleges but even community colleges are feeling the effects of the state funding being

cut. Moreover, many people turn to community colleges for affordable education after high
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school, but many community colleges have to move around money and make their own budget

cuts to stay in business while helping students have an affordable tuition. Many students,

especially those that attend community colleges, do not live on campus, according to the

National Center for Education Statistics, in 2015. Furthermore, about 40 percent of students were

25 years and older and the students often work full- or part-time jobs. Likewise, a good number

of people started college at a four-year college, but many students had to drop out because of

financial pressures or family setbacks. These students rely on the underfunded community

colleges to complete their degrees, so why do state governments continue to cut funding for

higher education?

It’s common sense that our taxes go to the government to fund the spending and operating

expenses, so shouldn’t the taxpayer have a say? The citizens of the states elect representatives to

speak for the state and the representatives decide where the taxpayer’s money is spent. If the

elected representatives truly represent the people and speak one their behave, then why aren’t the

state representatives supporting the public colleges and universities with more funding? Turns out

that state and local tax revenue are a major source of support for public colleges and universities

(Mitchell, Leachman, and Masterson). Unlike private institutions, which depend on charitable

donations and large endowments, public two-year and four-year colleges typically rely greatly on

state and local tax revenue. “In 2016, state and local dollars constituted 53 percent of the funds

these institutions used directly for teaching and instruction” (Mitchell, et al.). Additionally, state

governments want their citizens to go to schooling after high school so that they can be more

profitable in the future (Mitchell, et al.). State governments invest in public colleges and

universities with the hopes of having a more profitable and educated economy, but not all degrees
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lead success and more money. Moreover, if more people are educated and make more money, then

the economy as a whole succeeds, but that seems unrealistic if tuition rates keep going up.

American colleges are more costly than most other country’s colleges. According to

Amanda Ripely, the U.S. spends more on college than almost any other country. “The U.S. ranks

No. 1 in the world for spending on student-welfare services such as housing, meals, health care,

and transportation” (Ripley). Additionally, “American taxpayers and families spend about

$3,370 on these services per student—more than three times the average for the developed

world” (Ripely). The U.S. spends so much on these services because most college students move

away from home and often times will live off campus and because universities hope to compete

with each other with the amenities they can offer to students. American colleges provide more

services than other countries, the U.S. has more dining halls and luxurious services compared to

other countries universities, like mental health and other activities for students. The data suggests

that the big tuition isn’t just about the dorm room and board, many American colleges spend

their funding on routine educational operations, like paying staff and faculty, not on dining halls

and dorm rooms. Universities and colleges operate like a business, sure it seems like they’re

selling a great education, but like any other company they are selling a whole lot more than just

an education. Moreover, there are sporting events, college attire, and other unnecessities that

college students are baited into buying. These world class public colleges are using these more

expensive recruiting tactics to increase applications and student enrollment. However, these

strategies to attract students come with a cost to the students and ultimately raise tuition.

Furthermore, state cutbacks were initially meant to make colleges more efficient and

independent, but all the cutbacks have done is make the institutions more like a commercial

business. Amanda Ripely suggests that American public colleges have moved away from
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targeting local students to attend their universities. Instead, these public institutions compete for

the wealthiest students, whom are usually from out of state, so that they’ll have to pay full tuition

costs. Furthermore, these universities have begun to enroll more foreign students and out of state

students who will have to pay the full dorm and board payments, by doing so the colleges will

bring in more revenue. Ultimately, public colleges and universities charge tuition and other

expenses so high because state funding is being cut and there is no government cap off for these

costs and expenses in tuition rates. Moreover, “there is no central mechanism to control price

increases. Universities extract money from students because they can” (Ripely). Universities are

allowed to do this because there is no government cap on tuition so colleges can virtually raise

the tuition costs all they want. The U.S. federal government has traditionally been reluctant to set

caps on the amount that public colleges can charge the public for tuition and other expenses. So,

Americans pay more for college classes, meanwhile, more and more of the financial

responsibility gets shifted from the government onto families.

Colleges are advertising the ‘college experience’ to bring in students, but all these extra

amenities are also very costly to the students. Appel and Taylor suggest that colleges advertise

great opportunities and results when, in reality, they are debt contributors and disastrous. Will

Brehm suggests that American students are influenced and often feel pressured when they see

their peers moving away for higher education. “The desire for education among American youth

knows no limit” (Brehm). Furthermore, “American youth copied their peers and succumbed to

social pressure when choosing to attend higher education” (Brehm). Brehm might have been a

bit harsh when discussing the common pattern of students often being influenced by each other

to attend college, but he makes a valid point. In fact, many students don’t know what they are

going to major in or do as an occupation when they enroll in higher education, which can be very
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problematic. Many students go into college undecided. Undecided students have to worry about

paying for college and deciding what they’ll major in, which can be stressful, because they are

paying a lot of money for their tuition. Furthermore, it’s so common that colleges have an

undecided option for students to pick while they take their first-year classes. Even though most

colleges let students wait till the end of their sophomore year to declare a major, students who

are still deciding can be very intimidated and start to feel the financial pressures of their

education. Since so many students go to college and often times are clueless about what they

want to major in, the buildup of student debt can also be an intimidating factor. Furthermore,

student debt affects the young adults’ lives and suggests that “higher education is teaching future

generations the practices of debt peonage” (Brehm). Debt peonage is also referred to as debt

slavery, debt slavery is a system where an employer compels a worker to pay off a debt with

work. Even though peonage is illegal, Brehm has a point, these students are building up debt so

that they can get a degree and good job to pay off their student debts. The students are

voluntarily deciding to go into debt, but the process does seem a bit harsh, starting off life as a

young adult with early debt is not a good start.

Community colleges are also faced with the state budget cuts, without the funding from

the state the community colleges are struggling to keep their tuitions low and stay profitable.

Furthermore, the “state governments, the federal government, and workforce development

stakeholders want their community colleges to step up and provide the high‐tech, high‐skill

workers they need” (Koh, Jonathan P., et al). If the public and community colleges don’t have

the funding to provide the students with quality knowledge and information, then the economy

will not get the high-skilled workers that they need. Moreover, the community colleges are

supposed to be a good education that’s affordable for everyone. Lately community colleges have
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been faced with a ‘double-whammy’ situation where the community colleges are faced with

budget cuts and an expectation to provide new services. Many parents and colleges are seeming

to require “individual students to shoulder both the immediate financial costs of HE (higher

education) and the economic uncertainty of their own futures” (Clark, Tom, et al). Young adults

are put under a lot of pressure in these ways and often feel like they are forced into making big

life decisions without thinking too far into the future about their decisions because of outside

pressures and influencers. If such a big life decision is made so rash, then the young adults might

have regrets, or feel like their trapped in an unwanted career path. Many parents are letting their

children decide to attend college or not, because college isn’t for everyone and it’s a big financial

commitment, but it doesn’t have to be.

As mentioned in the introduction, two thirds of the developed countries either have

tuition lower than 2,400 dollars a year or the college tuition is free all together. America has a

mentality that everything is greater here, including our colleges, they have to be bigger, better,

and more expensive. ““America has the best colleges and universities in the world!” President

Donald Trump exclaimed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year.

Former President Barack Obama said the same thing before him” (Ripely). Even our president’s

claim that America’s colleges are the best in the world, but that entitlement comes with a big

price tag. American colleges try to advertise that they are the best colleges so that more students

will apply, but if the funding for public colleges keep decreasing the tuition will continue to go

up and colleges will have to make changes to stay afloat. On the flip side, students today are

predicted by the federal government experts that student debtors will have to make repayments

for 10–30 years, depending on the size of the student loan (Brehm). Unaffordability has not

slowed enrollment for these big public colleges, with prices rising and wages dulling, students
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have increasingly depended on borrowed money from the federal government to pay for their

tuition. “By the end of 2018, former students (not all of whom graduated) owed $1.46 trillion,

making student loans the second largest share of consumer debt after housing” (Brehm).

Additionally, John Thelin suggests that public colleges used to be state funded, then the colleges

were state assisted, but now the colleges are just located in the state. Furthermore, Thelin goes on

to state that “American higher education is a success story about an enterprise that now is a

troubled giant.” Considering that most public colleges are struggling financially it seems

stubborn of America to not consider a different way to fund colleges or maybe try to have a cap

on tuition fees for colleges. In contrast, Americans take great pride in being free and making

their own decisions, which is why the government doesn’t set these caps and limitations, because

the people might feel their freedom is being limited.

Considering the research and other findings, American public colleges have been

dramatically increasing their tuition rates these past three decades and there doesn’t seem to be

an end to the raising costs any time soon. Most Americans are classified as the middle class,

either too rich to qualify for financial aid or the families earn too little to pay the full tuition costs

for most colleges. Furthermore, most parents feel the moral obligation to put their kids through

college to give them the best start possible, but in the end, someone is taking the responsibility to

pay for this big price tag of an overpriced education. After researching the topic of why public

colleges in America are so expensive, the findings clearly state that America must be the biggest

and the best at everything including college. Consequently, America’s public colleges have

become more business oriented. Moreover, public colleges are funded mostly by the taxpayer’s

money, the public, so why is the public struggling to further their education at an institution that

they support and help fund? These big institutions don’t get as much funding from the state
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legislature anymore which causes them to raise tuition to cover the difference, but how does the

raising tuition affect the actual students and their education? The U.S. has not enforced a cap on

college tuitions which means that colleges can continue to raise their prices. Many public

colleges act more like businesses by advertising more than an education. Additionally, colleges

will advertise attire, partying, living away from home, and sports. These public universities want

to bring in as much revenue as they can, so it’s not uncommon to see out of state or even out of

country students attending America’s colleges. Moreover, if these underfunded institutions bring

in higher paying students, not necessarily smarter, then the schools get more money and

therefore more revenue. Today’s public universities and colleges are like any other big

corporation, they get away with charging big prices because students are still applying and

enrolling in these schools. Just like our president Donald Trump said, “America has the best

colleges and universities in the world!” (Ripely) but at what cost to the people who make it

possible for the institutions to be profitable?

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Works Cited
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