Sheepskins and overhead

A new report finally follows the money trail of ever-rising tuition costs, and finds it's not the consumer--the student--who most benefits.

In the report’s closing section, it poses two questions: “Are college tuitions rising because spending is growing? If so, where is the money going?”
The answer: “For more than three-quarters of the students enrolled in higher education, the answer is no: Students at public institutions are paying for a higher proportion of costs, but their money is not translating into a higher level of service. These students are paying more, and getting less. For students in private, nonprofit institutions, the answer is clearly yes: Students are paying more, and the institutions are spending more. But even here, there is not clear evidence that greater spending is translating to improvements in degree productivity.”

The internet may yet make the "brick and mortar" sanctuary approach to higher education obsolete, as the truly motivated student asks why they should subsidize the trappings of academia when they can obtain knowledge and skills far more cheaply through guided self-study.