by Robert A. Scott
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American higher education is one of the greatest success stories in history. Not only do significant advances in medicine and technology owe their origins to university faculty scholars, but also undergraduate education results in both personal and public benefits. College graduates have greater earning potential than high school graduates, better employability, increased productivity, enhanced communication skills, improved self-confidence, advanced critical thinking skills, broader networks and advancement opportunities, and healthier, happier lives, according to the Education Pays 2023 report. Indeed, American colleges and universities have been the envy of the world.
Yet, throughout the country, many claim that the answer to college enrollment and financial challenges is to emphasize career preparation and forgo the humanities. They fail to recognize that what is “higher” about college and university education is the transformational experience of engaging with ideas: learning history and scientific research methods; knowing the difference between causality, correlation, and coincidence; developing the imagination through literature and the arts; learning empathy and compassion through stories and internships; and pausing to reflect on what is learned, all with a teacher as a guide.
There are criticisms about purpose, costs and debt, and the curriculum, but many of the complaints are either ill-founded or cited without context. Some critics advocate for the reallocation of federal funds for higher education to corporate training programs. While funding for technical and vocational training is a valid proposal, this request overlooks the need for and the benefits from the arts, history, philosophy, or other subjects that can help students develop advanced skills and abilities as well as knowledge for its own sake and preparation for active citizenship. In short, many criticisms are based on perceptions about higher education and not the reality. Take costs and student debt, for example.
The critics cite the price of tuition and fees at elite universities and forecast prices of $100,000 per year. This focus on the several dozen most expensive institutions ignores the reality that the average private four-year college tuition and fees total was $40,700 in 2022-2023, nowhere near $100,000.
Yes, tuition is higher than ten years earlier, when it averaged $24,523. While this is a lot of money, we should put it in context. We also should acknowledge that only a small percentage of students pay the “sticker” price because of extensive tuition discounting.
We also know that students and families borrow to pay college bills. Nearly 45 million Americans have outstanding student debt. What is less well known is that the government limits federal borrowing by undergraduate students to $31,000. The average federal student loan debt is $29,400 for 2021-22 graduates.
However, for-profit, or proprietary, college students left with an average of $49,700 in debt. Only 10% of borrowers owe more than $100,000, and that is mostly for legal and medical education. Most undergraduates finish college with little or modest debt: 34% of borrowers owe $10,000 or less and 79% owe $40,000 or less. National student loan debt declined 2.09% in the fourth quarter of 2023. These numbers are reported by the Education Data Initiative.
Between 2012-2013 and 2022-2023, median U.S. household income increased 17.7%, the average price of a car sold in America increased 52%, the price of the average home in the U.S. increased 60%, the average price of a gallon of milk increased 8.2%, and the total for tuition and fees increased 8.2% at private colleges. At the same time, the average federal student debt increased 43.3%, to $37,088 in 2023 from $26,270 in 2013.
The majority of student loan debt is held by households with higher earnings and a graduate degree. For example, the highest-income households, those in the 80th to 89th percentile of income owe an average of $73,340 while those in the 90th+ percentile have an average of $80,690. Households in the lowest 20th percentile of income have an average student debt of $28,310.
This isn’t to say higher education debt policy is not an issue. Student loan debt should be eligible for bankruptcy protection, as is every other form of debt. Also, the federal government should adopt a policy to address college graduation rates, especially for low-income students. It is outrageous that only 60% of four-year college students graduate after six years. One million students drop out of college each year, of which three-quarters are first-generation, two-thirds are from low-income households, and one-half were in Associate Degree programs. Colleges should be held accountable. Many of these students took out loans for college expenses and will not have the income to repay the loans.
Finally, interest rates on federal student loans should be lower than commercial rates if our goal is to make college more affordable. In addition, the practice of charging interest on interest and loan fees, as is government policy, adds to the total debt level. A substantial part of debt is interest charged on debt which is why many students owe more than they borrowed.
Another common criticism is that the college curriculum is biased toward “woke-ness” and not toward preparing workers and citizens. Again, some focus on a few cases that do not show the full picture of what colleges teach. A recent study of 5.6 million courses at 4,000 colleges and universities by Open Syllabus, a nonprofit group, found that less than “one in 1,000 courses includes reference to critical race theory, structural racism, systemic racism, or diversity, equity and inclusion.”
These results give a lie to the allegation that college faculty members are left-wing zealots who attempt to radicalize students. See also the results from a study about professors and politics.
We must stand up for the purpose of higher education even in the presence of criticism. What is higher about advanced education prepares graduates for professional careers and engaged citizenship. To ignore history and thwart critical analysis of what is and what might be ignores the maxim of the French political philosopher Maximilien de Robespierre: “The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.”
