Financial Times: The US college debt bubble is becoming dangerous

[voltz99]

To the best of my knowledge the dorms haven't changed very much. Fitness centers and cafeteria choices have changed dramatically. Those things have to be adding the the cost.

I don't know what schools pay for technology. Good wi-fi should be that expensive, should it? I also wonder what universities spend to maintain libraries. I'm amazed by the size of libraries these days when you can look just about anything up online. Law libraries are some of the worst. Are they being kept for show?

New dorms are a lot different. Did you have a single room with a private bath? They have gone from dorms to luxury apartments.

 

[voltz99]

Voltz99 is probably a college administrator.

Between 1975 and 2005, total spending by American higher educational institutions, stated in constant dollars, tripled, to more than $325 billion per year. Over the same period, the faculty-to-student ratio has remained fairly constant, at approximately fifteen or sixteen students per instructor. One thing that has changed, dramatically, is the administrator-per-student ratio. In 1975, colleges employed one administrator for every eighty-four students and one professional staffer—admissions officers, information technology specialists, and the like—for every fifty students. By 2005, the administrator-to-student ratio had dropped to one administrator for every sixty-eight students while the ratio of professional staffers had dropped to one for every twenty-one students.

http://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septoct-2011/administrators-ate-my-tuition/

Nice guess but could not be more wrong. You are probably a Joebot. From 1975-2012 you never once complained about the administration.

Like I said before, give us the list of perks that you are willing to cut and the school can eliminate the perks and the administration that oversee those perks. I am all for making cuts. I am even ok with cutting sports that lose money. YOu in?

 

[bdgan]

New dorms are a lot different. Did you have a single room with a private bath? They have gone from dorms to luxury apartments.

South Halls, East Halls, etc. are now like luxury apartments with private baths?

 

[BobPSU92]

South Halls, East Halls, etc. are now like luxury apartments with private baths?

JOEBOT.

 

[getmyjive11]

That would depend. First, Penn State sports are funded by Penn State sports. So it isn't a case where high tuition is a result of Penn State athletics. If anything, Penn State enrollment is increased by the fun atmosphere of Penn State athletics.

Second, the Big 10 and other TV money shows up on the football and basketball income statements. Whereas, most all of the other sports at Penn State shows a loss. I don't know about you, but I don't know of many people who subscribe to the Big 10 Network for Penn State basketball. Thus, I believe we would need a better accounting of what sports are self sustaining, and which ones actually lose money.

If you could accurately allocate TV dollars to sports, I think you would come to the same conclusion: only football, men's basketball and maybe men's hockey (with the help of endowments) turn a profit. And from that profit, probably 90% is football.

With that being said, sports is not an issue so it shouldn't even be discussed for this topic. It's not like we are Rutgers who has bled their students dry in the name of sports.

 

[Art]

That would depend. First, Penn State sports are funded by Penn State sports. So it isn't a case where high tuition is a result of Penn State athletics. If anything, Penn State enrollment is increased by the fun atmosphere of Penn State athletics.

Second, the Big 10 and other TV money shows up on the football and basketball income statements. Whereas, most all of the other sports at Penn State shows a loss. I don't know about you, but I don't know of many people who subscribe to the Big 10 Network for Penn State basketball. Thus, I believe we would need a better accounting of what sports are self sustaining, and which ones actually lose money.

This is pretty simple actually. The larger media rights deals in terms of dollars, those with Disney, Fox, and CBS, are exclusively for football and men's basketball. Those are easy to account for. The deal with BTN is largely for football and basketball as well. The contracted amounts for other sports is trivial (the NCAA contract for all other sports is just over $40mm p.a. and most of that is for international broadcast rights to March Madness). The distribution of this revenue could be refined for the odd telecasts of women's basketball, women's volleyball and wrestling, but it's highly unlikely it will make any other sport at PSU a moneymaker.

 

[bjf1991]

New dorms are a lot different. Did you have a single room with a private bath? They have gone from dorms to luxury apartments.

Which has NOTHING to do with the cost of TUITION......you damn Rocket Surgeon

(Not to mention, the vast majority of PSU dorms are exactly as they were twenty years ago - - - except more run down)

 

[Franklin_Restores_TheTradition]

Which has NOTHING to do with the cost of TUITION......you damn Rocket Surgeon

(Not to mention, the vast majority of PSU dorms are exactly as they were twenty years ago - - - except more run down)

There you go again with those darn facts again......(like tuition rising 5 times faster than general inflation the last 20 years). You're really enamored with those stupid things aren't you? Don't you understand the power of "spin" like us corrupt, scumbag lawyers-turned-politicians and lawyers-turned-"public servants"?

 

[WestSideLion]

....Some random thoughts.....

First, All schools have way too many Administrators and that goes for local public school districts as well. Many of these positions are no value added and should be eliminated

Second, Colleges have way too many degrees offered that are essentially worthless once you graduate with them, Kids don't realize until its to late that a degree in say Art History will not have much return on investment until they are 1000's in debt with no hope of repayment

Third, I agree with some other posts here that say the loans should be bankruptable and not backed by the government, that would force the burden onto he lenders and they would sop making these mega loans to kids who have no hope of repayment.

Fourth, Colleges should stop requiring students take so many gen ed classes just to get a degree, that would enable most to graduate within 2 or 3 years with a degree in their field of interest. Why do I need to take History and Philosophy classes if I am an Engineer! Not needed...stick to the necessities! Of course this would cause and elimination of cost of these classes all together and shrink the faculty and then enable lower costs...can't have that!

A friend of mine has 3 degrees (BA, MA and PHD) from Harvard in European History. He was working as a legal researcher at a mid-sized law firm in NY. There were literally no more than 30-40 good jobs for him in the world.