What would be the more effective way to combat tuition hikes?

Catria · 10-01-2012, 11:23 PM

Here are two commonly proposed strategies for students (and parents) to fight tuition hikes:

- The classical student strike. This is when the student bodies of departments, colleges/schools within an university, or even entire universities collectively decide to go on strike, thus meaning that students collectively stop going to classes.

The students' (and parents') leverage come from the fact that, if sustained long enough, it will cause a surefire administrative nightmare, delaying (outright cancellation of classes due to a student strike is a rare event in history) evaluations, pushing back the calendar of the classes affected as well as creating a logjam when classes resume, although it is arguably more effective at public schools. Although relatively common elsewhere in the world, student strikes don't seem to last very long when undergraduates are involved in American schools. (And, prior to 2012, the last American student strike of note was in 1970)

- The tuition strike. This is when the aforementionned student bodies collectively decide to stop paying tuition instead. If the schools are in "good" faith, the faculty may decide to let the students on a tuition strike go to classes, but without awarding credit for the classes affected. I think that might work better at private schools or other schools where a significant amount of the school's funding come from the students' pocket.

mini · 10-01-2012, 11:30 PM

Convince your legislature to support undergraduate tuition. And support the taxes necessary to pay for it.

As for private colleges, don't go there unless you can afford it.

tomofboston · 10-01-2012, 11:31 PM

A better strastegy would be to go to a state school or a private school that will award you good merit aid.

Another method would be for students to stop expecting luxurious fitness centers, residence halls, high tech gadgets in every building etc. These things cost monry you know.

intparent · 10-01-2012, 11:34 PM

Good luck with these... my kid will be in class earning credits and moving toward graduation/a job while you are out "on strike". Likely all you would accomplish is damaging your own academic standing.

It really would take movement of the market (people refusing to pay, and refusing to BORROW to pay) for more expensive colleges for a change to occur. By refusing to pay, I mean selecting less expensive alternatives. Community colleges, state colleges, foreign colleges, trade schools, no college. Another possible way to reduce tuition is to elect legislatures that will levy taxes and and fund state colleges at a level that keeps student tuition low as an investment in the state's economy. That only works with public universities, of course.

NJSue · 10-01-2012, 11:48 PM

1. In the US, unlike some other countries, students are not considered workers in an economic sense. They and their parents are consumers. There will always be parents and students who will pay what a particular school is asking, or it will go out of business. Colleges set their prices according to what the market will bear.

2. The faculty does not have the authority to make decisions in bursary matters. A student whose account is not current will not get the transcripts released to prove degree completion. Faculty cannot do a thing about this. Furthermore, they also want to get paid and certainly won't work for free either.

oldfort · 10-02-2012, 05:53 AM

You could also strike a deal with the school to pay all 4 years upfront in exchange for no tuition increase. Depending on what your return on investment is, you may come out ahead.

Sop14's Mom · 10-02-2012, 06:57 AM

Tuition goes up because costs to schools go up. Energy costs, health benefits, food, building maintenance and renovation costs, modest (and I mean less than inflation) salary raises to cover the rise in cost of living. Schools work very hard at keeping tuition down, and most have slashed their budgets already, and are getting ready for the next round. You do not want your kid attending a school whose budget gets slashed to the bone--trust me on this one.

eastcoascrazy · 10-02-2012, 08:07 AM

After our kids college decisions have been finalized we should all write letters to every school we have visited (that our kids are not attending) describing, in detail, the unnecessary bloat of luxurious buildings, amenities, layers of administrative personnel and unnecessary high tech toys we observed when we toured the campus. We should go on to explain that we refuse to pay a tuition, room and board fee that seems related more to that expansive luxury than to anything directly related to education or research.

There were a few colleges my sons decided not to apply to after visiting. I wish I had written letters to one, in particular, that featured their wonderful new laundry facilities that would notify students via email (or text? Its been almost 5 years) when machines are open, and when their laundry is clean or dry. The college had multiple brand new buildings. I remember thinking, "Well, now I understand why this place costs so much," during that tour. That college has recently stopped awarding merit awards. There seems to be a direct link between overbuilding and subsequent belt tightening there.

SteveMA · 10-02-2012, 08:46 AM

eastcoascrazy--why?? Personally I want the best of the best in facilities, etc. for a college education. Our older two had the laundry notification system at the state schools they attended, loved it. The rest of the facilities left a lot to be desired though, but that is what you get for a cut rate place. I have yet to see a dorm that I would consider "luxury" however, some are nicer than others but they are all dorms. These kids live there for 4 years, or more, why shouldn't they have a nice place to work out and some other perks? Most of those perks are funded through alumni foundations and usually that means happy alumni--another thing we look for in colleges.

coureur · 10-02-2012, 11:17 AM

>>You could also strike a deal with the school to pay all 4 years upfront in exchange for no tuition increase.<<

My daughter's school offered this kind of deal as a payment option. I didn't take it even though it would have save me thousands if I had, because you never know for sure that your kid won't drop out, transfer, get sick, or leave school for any number of reasons. And I didn't want to be stuck arguing with the school to give the money back.

As for the OP's question, the best way to "combat" tuition hikes is the same way you combat price hikes in say cars, computers, or clothing - take your business elsewhere. It's a competitive world out there. Find a car or computer or college that is priced more in line with your budget and take your business there.

When a school's enrollment begins to drop off due to tuition increases, like any other business they will very quickly be lowering the price, or at least holding the line on further increases, to win the business back.

ucbalumnus · 10-02-2012, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coureur

When a school's enrollment begins to drop off due to tuition increases, like any other business they will very quickly be lowering the price, or at least holding the line on further increases, to win the business back.

This seems to be starting to happen at some private colleges that are expensive, but not widely seen as "good" (although price reductions sometimes occur in the less-transparent way of offering larger scholarships and financial aid discounts).

skrlvr · 10-02-2012, 11:33 AM

It's not surprising that we have had these tuition increases at the same time the 'consumerist' ideology infiltrated education. Students are no longer viewed as, well, students, and you can hear some administrators refer to them as 'clients' or 'customers'.
Education is seen as a 'product'. Customers needs to be happy.

So if you are essentially treating students as customers, and then you are trying to lure your customers to your institution, and keep them, then what will you entice them with?

Hunt · 10-02-2012, 11:37 AM

It seems to me that in the US it depends on whether you are talking about public or private schools. For private schools, it's all about the market. Going elsewhere is the solution.

For public schools, it's a political question. Going on strike at the school will have little effect--lobbying and demonstrations at the state capitol might.

ucbalumnus · 10-02-2012, 11:39 AM

Perhaps if the net price calculators become better known and more heavily used by students and parents, that may help (based on the threads in the college search and selection forum, it appears that many students and parents are still not too aware of them). College costs have historically had little to no price transparency, since financial aid and scholarship offers often were not known until long after application deadlines have passed, so it was "apply and hope for enough financial aid and scholarship money".

mini · 10-02-2012, 11:41 AM

For the prestige privates, why should they lower tuition? As they raise the price, they have been getting more applicants, not fewer. Standard economic theory would say they are very substantially underpriced.

And they are, for their main applicants (those who can afford the so-called "full freight). For these applicants, these schools are cheaper now than at any time since 1980, as assets have risen faster than COA.