With the cost of tuition rising with no sign of abatement, students are facing increasingly limited choices, and pursuing a history, philosophy or English degree just for the joy of learning seems to many impractical. In a January 2012 employment report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, recent graduates in the liberal arts and humanities were shown to experience some of the highest rates of unemployment (9.4%), following closely behind architecture and the arts. At the same time, those humanities and liberal arts graduates lucky enough to find employment were projected to have among the lowest earnings of recent college graduates, averaging annual salaries of $31,000. Nonetheless, availing themselves of innovative programs, frugal students are able to pursue their love of learning, acquire a degree and not break the bank.

Depriving the World of Affordable English Degrees

Tuition has risen precipitously at the nation’s top schools. From 1999 to 2009, tuition at public colleges rose an average of 73%.  During the period from 2007 through 2010, tuition at those public four-year institutions with the greatest increases rose over 45%, and for public two-year schools, by 69%.

The ill effects of high student debt follow borrowers for years. A recent survey conducted by the Federal Reserve demonstrated that in 2009, the median age of student loan borrowers was 39, over 14% of student loans were for $50,000 or more, and over 35% of the borrowers had either no or negative wealth.

In a 2009 report, the average amount of student loans incurred to earn a bachelor’s degree was $24,700; on top of that, in another study, 90% of students reported they used credit cards to pay direct education expenses, and on average, charged $2,200 to pay for textbooks, supplies and other direct expenses.

Interest rates on federally-subsidized student loans are in limbo due to gridlock in Congress. Depending on the outcome of attempts to limit those rates, a recent graduate with an English degree with average student loans paying $200 per month can realistically expect to pay off her loans anywhere from 12 years (at 3.4%) to 17 years (at 6.8%) after graduation. Earning $31,000 per year, our liberal arts student can expect to have after -tax and -student loan net income of $22,500, or about $1875 per month for housing, food, transportation, credit card and other expenses. Not a rosy picture.

Source of Rising Costs

Although there are many causes contributing to the increase in tuition costs, including demand for great sports and austere state government budget cuts, one almost universally overlooked cause has been the dramatic increase in administrative costs.

College administrations are comprised of the executives, staff and managers who run the bureaucracy. Between 1997 and 2007, these costs rose 16%.  From 1987 to 2007, over 50% of new full time positions created were either managerial or support staff – meaning people who provide no instruction and conduct no research. The trend is so steep in fact, that were the growth trends from 1987 to the present to continue, by 2014, administrators at public colleges would outnumber instructors.

Administrative salaries have also become bloated. Nearly 10% of administrators at doctoral/research institutions receive salaries of $100,000 or greater. Notably, the average total annual compensation for 2011 of the top ten highest earning public university presidents was over $1,000,000.

Response to Increased Costs

In light of the huge jump in cost (and debt), some observers have opined that higher education is in the midst of a “bubble,” akin to the housing bubble, and that the cost of tuition is greater than the value (employment) obtained with the degree earned. Frugal students are choosing alternative forms of education, which provide skills and credentials at reduced cost.

Many online degree programs tout their affordability as a large part of their appeal. Students, and in particular younger students, are seeking postsecondary certificates to supplement everything from high school diplomas to graduate degrees in fields ranging from healthcare to auto mechanics to cosmetology.
Some institutions are even offering free lectures and courses as part of their commitment to “open learning.” For example, the University of Pennsylvania allows readers to pursue their dream of an English degree, and gamers to find a practical application for their entertainment addiction with free online courses.

Despite steeply rising education costs, patient students can obtain a top notch higher education and acquire the job skills they need, without incurring huge student debt.

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