Higher Education Act

With this increase in tuition costs it is making a college education more and more unaffordable and putting students in more debt.

The ideas of equal opportunities that America was built on has been lost and replaced with a structure of education only being accessible for the wealthy. College tuition is a topic that is on every high school and college student's mind. As tuition costs are constantly rising more college students will face the sticker shock of acquiring a secondary education. Unfortunately, college costs do not just end at tuition and room and board people also have to pay for textbooks, meals, and transportation. The cost of college has become outrageous and students are leaving college with high amounts of debt.

An education is one of the most important tools a person can acquire. It gives them the skills and abilities to obtain a job, earn a wage, and then use that wage to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. However, due to the seemingly exponential increase in the costs of obtaining a college degree, students are either being driven away entirely from earning a degree or taking out student loans which cripple their financial prospects well after graduation. Without question, the increasing national student loan debt is one of the most pressing economic issues the United States is dealing with, as students who are debt ridden are not able to consume and invest in the economy. Therefore, many politicians and students are calling

The United States needs to look to other nations that have figured out the necessity of higher education to be at an affordable cost if not free. In 2015, college graduates are facing on average just north of $35,000 in student debt (Berman). In part, the government has reduced the federal funding that each college receives each year. Therefore, colleges have constantly raised the

The increasing cost of higher education in the United States has been a continuing topic for debate in recent decades. American society emphasizes the importance of education after high school, yet the cost of higher education and advanced degrees continually rises at a greater rate than inflation in the 1970’s. According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, cost factors prevent 48% of college-qualified high school graduates from pursuing further education (McKeon, 2004, p. 45). The current system requires the majority of students to accumulate extensive debt with the expectation that they gain rewarding post-graduate employment to repay their loans.

Since 1974, tuition has been on the rise and has reached new heights. One reason why tuition is increasing is because of “the state governments’ unwillingness or inability to raise per-student financing” (Davidson). The government is spending less on college and moving those funds into other categories, such as the military. Furthermore, colleges are spending less on each student than they did during pre-recession (Fox). Even after the recession, the government is continuously cutting more and more from education funds. As the government cuts more from education funds, tuition cost will steadily increase to compensate the loss. Tuition increased from 1994 to 2015 is depicted in the graph on the next page. Drawing a conclusion from the graph, it is possible that if this trend continues, public colleges will approximately reach the same price as private colleges one day. The amount of financial aid given is unable to meet the needs of lower income students,

“College Prices Soar Again!” “Budget Cuts Cause Even Higher Tuition!” “Higher Education Now Even Less Affordable” These are all statements that have been seen all over the media: newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. (3 SV: SV) Rising college tuition in America has been a problem for years. Many students drop out after a single year due to the pricey costs of tuition. The rapid rise can be attributed to many aspects of the economy, not just a single source. There have also been some propositions of how costs could be lowered, but these have yet to be seen. The United States has gone into a tuition crisis.

College debt is becoming more of a drastic problem in the United States with the rising costs of college tuition. In “Why the Student Loan Crisis Is Even Worse Than People Think” Mark Kantrowitz expresses how the issue of student debt in America is to be blamed by the government’s lack of action. In “Is College Doomed?” Graeme Wood expresses the benefits of the new and innovative univeristy Minerva. A perk about this university is that it includes the cheaper tuition than other ivy league schools because of its lack of all the componenets of an average university. The government needs to be more involved in preventing future college students from graduating with overwhelming debt.

The presidential race is now consuming America. It is mentioned every morning in the news and in every “scroll” through social media. While important topics such a national security, national debt, and international affairs are brought up constantly in the debate spotlight, higher education is a topic less discussed. However, each presidential candidate has a specific, strategic plan to tackle current issues in higher education. The main issue that candidates believe should be addressed includes college costs and how they impact student debt. Each candidate has a different stance on the issue, and each have a plan to move toward solving the issue. This review will cover the current issue of student debt and how that is impacting America, each presidential candidates strategic plan to tackle this issue, a critique of each presidential candidate’s plan, and a reflection of solutions presented. Each candidate running for the 2016 presidency deserves full recognition, this review will focus on the two leading presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

In 1976, the average cost to attend a four year public university was $2,175; today, the average cost to attend a four year public university is $25,000 (Snyder). This means it is 1150% more expensive to go to college in The United States today than it was 30 years ago. This obviously would create a problem on how we as people are going to pay for our higher education. Today college has become almost a necessity to have a satisfactory life, and with these rising prices some individuals believe student loans are the only option. There are many reasons as to why the prices have risen, but the one undeniable fact is that this has created a problem within our country. Which, is known as the student debt crisis, and it has been on the rise the past couple years. This problem is affecting people all around the United States, and is causing multitude of problems for them all because they wanted to pursue higher education. Wanting to better your opportunities by bettering yourself is not something that needs to be punished, and sadly that is what is happening. This problem is something that needs to be fixed for the sake of Americans and our economy, but will also take time and a multitude of steps to correct.

Higher education costs have been increasing at a rapid pace, faster than inflation for the economy as a whole, for the past fifty years. It started in the 1960’s when the federal government passed the Higher Education Act to increase the amount of people able to afford and attend college. Regardless of the Unites States Government efforts to increase the affordability of college, federal aid programs have not risen to expectations due to the ever-increasing college prices. To lower the price of college, the government needs to cut back on student financial spending to go only to the lowest income families and create tax incentives for families to start saving up on their own.

The cost of tuition for higher education is quickly rising. Over half of college freshmen show some concern with how to pay for college. This is the highest this number has been since 1971 (Marill and O’Leary 64-66, 93). The amount of college graduate debt has been rapidly increasing also. With limited jobs available because of the high unemployment rate, college graduates find themselves staying in debt even longer. Although grants and financial aid are available to students, students still struggle to pay for their college tuition. Higher education costs are prohibitively expensive because the state’s revenue is low, the unemployment rate is high, and graduates cannot pay off their student loans.

The cost of tuition at colleges and universities in the United States has seen a steady increase over last several decades. Since the 1980s, the list price for tuition has risen by roughly 7% per year, while the inflation rate has averaged 3.2% per year. The effect of this mismatch in the rise of the cost of tuition versus the average inflation rate has had monumental effects on the ability of students to afford a higher education. This, in turn, has forced more students to take out increasingly large amounts of loans, causing for the national student loan debt to grow to over $1 trillion dollars, more than total credit card

The increasing cost of higher education in the United States has been a continuing topic for debate in recent decades. American society emphasizes the importance of education after high school, yet the cost of undergraduate and advanced degrees continually rises at a greater rate than inflation. According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, cost factors prevent 48% of college-qualified high school graduates from pursuing further education (McKeon, 2004, p. 45). The current system requires the majority of students to accumulate extensive debt with the expectation that they gain lucrative post-graduate employment to repay their loans.

The rising costs of formal education has become a real and concerning issue for most Americans. Whitehouse.gov states, the average income of families has remained roughly the same in the last three decades. In that time the tuition rates have more than tripled. This leaves families struggling to get their kids through school. According to Forbs, universities and colleges have been raising their tuition fees by 2 to 5% each year. Forbs also found that in public schools while students are paying more for their education, the college or university is spending less money on the student’s education. Forbs explains that the 2008 recession is largely to blame. On the contrary, that was 6 years ago and public schools are still spending less money on student’s education but charging the student more for it. This means that the tuition students are paying is not being