Running head: HIGHER EDUCATION

Cost of Higher Education

Michael Lopez-Duran
The University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

Higher education is a fundamental necessity in todays world. This paper speaks mostly
about the cost of higher education and how it can affect anyone from the students
themselves, their parents, their pocketbooks, society at large, and what help there can
be out there to feel at ease. Talking over statistical analysis and reviewing what experts
have to say on this topic, the barriers are broken down to be somewhat understood.
There is a brief analysis over a breakdown of statistics in between wealthy and nonwealthy persons and how capitalism affects these people in particular. Between
competition and industry there is the attempt to understand the politics of higher
education and what exactly it means to attend a prestigious private institution over a
textbook normal public one. What are the impacts of our community during and after the
effects of higher education and what one should be doing. Finally over programs the
government offers and how one can take them to their advantage.

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The Cost of Higher Education

Higher education is typically referred to as education at the University or College level.

There are fundamental requirements that are involved with higher education such as prior
education at the high school level or equivalent; however, in order to attend an institution that
offers you this type of education you ultimately need money. The United States, as is well
known, operates on a capitalist economy and thus effects everything surrounding the culture of
higher education. Looking at how higher education effects their parents and their pocketbooks,
what institution a student might choose to attend, the relationship between the student and
society, and how the government plays a part in the financial process of the everyday lives of
students in the United States. This is an attempt to take as much information as possible into
account, to analyze, and investigate an issue within the collegian communities.
There are two types of people that can be eligible to attend school; people whose parents
have money, and people, with perhaps their parents, that have to borrow from the government to
be able to attend said institutions. There are wealthy parents who care for the education of their
children and work to get them into these so called prestigious establishments. However
according to the journal The Future of Children, in an article named The Role of Higher
Education in Social Mobility, the authors describe In his discussion of what he calls
"education-based meritocracy," John Goldthorpe explains that a merit-based higher education
system can offset the role of social class in determining economic outcomes. In a merit-based
system, he notes, postsecondary schooling is a filter that keeps parents' economic position from
simply passing straight through to their children, thus simultaneously promoting economic
efficiency, social justice, and social mobility (Haveman, R., & Smeeding, T. p. 127, 2006). The

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authors elaborate that the more fortunate students might take everything for granted and go on to
describe a formula by Goldthorpe that might move the mediocracy issue away from becoming
reality. The authors state that Today, however, the selection processes within higher education
itself also appear to be a problem. The high concentration in the nation's colleges and universities
of youth from the top echelons of parental income and social class is disturbing and appears to be
increasing. It exists at all levels of postsecondary schooling but is especially evident at the
nation's best (most selective) colleges and universities. (Haveman, R., & Smeeding, T. p.
127/128, 2006). Pitting both social classes and their students against each other when stating the
inequalities of both classes where your wealthy parents are able to prepare for their children's
education through graduate education; Versus a family or parents whom begin saving for their
childs education later on in life. Giving statistical evidence such as in 2000 parents at the
ninetieth percentile of the income distribution had available an average of $50,000 to support
each child, including his or her schooling, as against $9,000 per child for families in the tenth
percentile (Haveman, R., & Smeeding, T. p. 128, 2006). This is a small percentile of factors that
contribute to the overall cost and choice of attending an institution that offers higher education in
conjunction to how much a family is
willing to spend on education. In
figure one and two, the median
incomes against the average college
tuition rates over the span of 34
years between 1972 and 2012. As
seen, the positive correlation

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between both non inclusive and inclusive of the
price of inflation, one can see the gap between
then and now increasing drastically.
Choice of institution can also be a factor
in the overall cost of higher education. In an

article review of In Pursuit of Prestige by Robert Zemsky, Zemsky factors in the original authors
attempt to understand the university as a business, or industry. Zemsky states These are the
institutions that are the most tuition dependent and hence most likely to be focused on the needs
of their students as customers. They are concerned with the here and now in the sense that they
pursue short-term strategies that allow them to adjust their offering as the markets for both
undergraduate and graduate education shift. They see their roles not in terms of setting standards
but in becoming models of successful practice. Caught in the middle are those institutions that
are prestige seeking. Often short of discretionary funds, frequently forced to compete in markets
with high entry costs, prestige-seeking colleges and universities are the industry's biggest
gamblers (Zemsky, R. p.475, 2003). In this Zemsky is asking the reader to beware of where
students, mostly aimed toward graduate students in particular, would like to attend. Zemsky
states that there are competitions amongst schools to gain the best educators and therefore bring
up the price tag on certain universities. He states institutions with both super-prestige and
extraordinary endowmentshave an incentive to limit their own prices in order to constrain the
amount of funds available to other less endowed as well as less prestigious medallion
institutions? The University of Pennsylvania, for example, cannot really charge more than
Princeton or Harvard, and yet, it is therefore at a competitive disadvantage given the size of the
Harvard and Princeton endowments. My suspicion is that this is but one of a class of insights

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about the different role pricing plays in determining the kinds of institutional strategies that are
the focus of In Pursuit of Prestige (Zemsky, R. p.475/476, 2003). In short, finding a cost
effective university that doesnt falter on quality is easily obtainable, and may save you money in
the long run for just as good an education.
Post-undergraduate or post-graduate can be overwhelming when all that is known is a
schedule that consists of nothing but school work. Transitioning from school to work is a
challenge in itself but understanding how we affect the community is another. In an article by
Adrianna J. Kezar, a professor at the University of Southern California under the Rossier School
of Higher Education, she statesTraditionally higher educations public role and contribution to
the public good has included educating citizens for democratic engagement, supporting local and
regional communities, preserving knowledge and making it available to the community, working
in concert with other social institutions such as government or healthcare in order to foster their
missions, advancing knowledge through research, developing the arts and humanities,
broadening access to ensure a diverse democracy, developing the intellectual talents of students,
and creating leaders for various areas of the public sector (Bok, 1982; Gumport, 2000) (2004).
Stating the basic characteristics of what is tradition, she shares concern with her colleagues,
Furthermore, critics are concerned that the current charter encourages ethical and educational
compromises that are potentially harmful for higher education and the general public, especially
as it relates to the historic mission of fostering democracy and important values such as equality,
academic freedom, or pursuit of knowledge (Slaughter, 1988; Soley, 1995; Sperber, 2000)
(Kezar, A., 2004). She later on uses a quote from Gumport to emphasize the worry of traditional
educationalists on the effect that cash grabbing institutions might have on the communities they
are in. Although successful she states that they are defeating the purpose of what higher

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education is meant for and what effect it would leave on the greater community. Further on she
explains The notion of the public good and of the charter are closely related, in fact the latter
emerges from the former. The charter between higher education and society, which is ongoing
and meaningful, is generally defined as the reciprocal relationship between higher education and
society. This relationship is seen as legal in that it is invested with certain fiduciary responsibility
and rights, as well as a covenant built on trust. Society provides resources, political support, raw
materials, and a guiding influence. In return, colleges and universities educate students, serve as
developers and repositories of knowledge, provide social critique, and contribute to the
community (Kezar, A., 2004). Bringing out the fact that we have a direct impact on the
community at large. Given the facts that there are different groups within a community that differ
in what they believe the greater good of said community is, our goal is to educate and continue to
groom and feed our communities for a positive effect on the costs of education.
There are ways that one can help himself/herself post-graduation with their growing
debts. The U.S. Government, amongst others, is responsible for loaning money for the benefit of
education to anyone willing to borrow the money and utilize it to accomplish his/her educational
goals (https://fafsa.ed.gov, 2010). Post-graduation there have been several students, through
america that experience difficulty repaying these debts (i.e. due to the unavailability of jobs on
the market). However there have been some programs that were implemented by our current
president to help alleviate the situation. Programs are presented online by the U.S. Department of
Education, such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The PSLF Program is
intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue to work full-time in public service jobs.
Under this program, borrowers may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance of their
Direct Loans after they have made 120 qualifying payments on those loans while employed full

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time by certain public service employers (https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgivenesscancellation/charts/public-service, n.d.). Given the explanation over this particular program one
can begin to understand what it takes in order to take that path if one choses. Others include the
NHSC Loan Repayment program which is This program is open to licensed primary care
medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health providers who are employed or have accepted
an offer of employment at an NHSC-approved site and will begin working by July 15, 2014.
Awardees receive up to $50,000 in exchange for two-years of service if they practice in a Health
Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) of 14 and above (Tier I). Awardees can also receive up to
$30,000 in exchange for two-years of service if they practice in a HPSA of 13 and below. In
FY2013, all of the NHSCs loan repayment awards were made to providers located in a Tier 1
HPSA. There were a total of 4,505 awards made (2,106 new and 2,399 continuations) totaling
$169.7 million (http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/, n.d.). Given these two examples one can
see that there are a variety of programs out there that can help a student finish school and still be
able to help pay back his debts.
There is so much information made readily available to the public, that it may be
overwhelming for some. Between all the information given here, there can only be personal
choice and personal influence taken from the reading. Whether there are wealthy or non wealthy
people reading this paper, informed or misinformed, please understand that this is merely a small
collection of works that attempt to summarize an outlining issue of a rising cost of education.
The goal was to influence a student or parent to be as well informed as possible over preparing
for the economic facts of attending an institution regardless of where a student might choose to
attend and the costs and consequences attached to such choice. Recommendations are to find a
more cost effective establishment that does not bow to industry but is more focused on the actual

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act of education in its purest. There can be a point where the community can stand together and
demand for a more socialistic form of education in the United States to give incentive for
students whom want to attend the university but cannot afford it. However, again, because of our
state of economy we may never see those days, the goal then would be to simply place a cap on
what private and public institutions could charge so that students do not go out into postgraduation many thousands in debt.

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References:

Kezar, A. (2004). Obtaining integrity? reviewing and examining the charter between
higher education and society. The Review of Higher Education, 27(4), 429-459.
Retrieved October 8, 2014, from
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/rhe/summary/v027/27.4kezar.html

Haveman, R., & Smeeding, T. (2006). The role of higher education in social mobility.
The Future of Children, 16(2), 125-150. Retrieved October 8, 2014, from
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/foc/summary/v016/16.2haveman.html

Zemsky, R. (2003). In pursuit of prestige: strategy and competition in u.s. higher

education (review). The Journal of Higher Education, 74(4), 474-476.
Loan repayment programs. (n.d.). Loan Repayment Programs Retrieved October 5, 2014,
from http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/
If you work full-time in a public service job, you may qualify for Public Service Loan
Forgiveness. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2014, from
https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/publicservice
Zusman, A. (2005). 5. In american higher education in the 21st century: social, political,
and economic challenges (2nd ed.). The John Hopkins University Press.
Federal Student Aid (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2014, from https://fafsa.ed.gov
ProCon.org. (2014). Figure 1 & 2 Median Incomes v. Average College Tuition Rates, 19712012. Retrieved from http://collegeeducation.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005532

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