The Tuition Bubble and the Voucher Slide
Stephen Downes makes what seems initially to be a good point here:
Caulfield argues that tuition is not a bubble, that because of discounting and government aid, the amount of tuition students actually pay is declining. Well maybe. But what this means is that unless they get some sort of grant or assistance, middle class students cannot pay current tuition rates, as evidenced by the fact that they are not paying these rates. An industry that prices itself to the point where its customers cannot afford the product without some sort of subsidy is almost the definition of a bubble, and when the subsidy ends – as it will – the bubble implodes.
To explain why this point is not necessarily valid, you have to understand the rather byzantine American system of funding public education. About 5 out of 6 of our students goes to some form of state-funded school (someone can correct me on that if I’m off, but I think that is in the ballpark). These state schools used to be (in the early 80s for example) funded pretty heavily by the state, which kept tuition down for everyone.
Over the past thirty years (and especially the last five), state funding has been pulled from these colleges. At the same time, federal grant money for students has increased.
It’s possible under a system like that, as direct funding is replaced with a voucher system, that total public
