We Could Easily Cut the Cost of Higher Education by 25% If We Really Wanted To

If we’re serious about fixing our problems we need to look at costs, not just who pays them

Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

It’s well-publicized that we have a higher education problem in the United States. Whether it should be as necessary as it right now is a matter up for debate, but as long as it is, we have to address accessibility and affordability. It’s interesting, then, that our current proposals all have to do with shifting rather than addressing the cost.

Have the government pay for college for everyone. Have the government pay for college for some people. Have the government pay for some of college for everyone. Or my personal solution: make college less of a requirement and more of an option. It doesn’t particularly matter where you fall on that spectrum because we’re covering something different. None of these suggestions, including my own, look at the main factor: the cost.

I can understand why that might be. With the large numbers they employ nationally across the United States, combined with their massive revenues, colleges are a formidable foe. Change-resistant and seemingly insulated from public criticism in the debate that rages around their problems, they somehow avoid being in the conversation about higher education. Politicians would be foolish to publicly threaten such a well-armed opponent.

Luckily, there’s one thing I have never been and never will be: a politician. So let’s look at this the way we would any other enterprise: realistically. And realistically, the college curriculum, business model, and methodology are woefully outdated and relatively unchanged in the last century or so. No wonder the institution is out of touch with the modern world.

Fortunately, one simple move can cut costs for future students immediately.

The well-rounded student myth

Ah, the well-rounded student. Harkening back to the days when all the information in the world wasn’t easily accessible in 30 seconds or less, the concept of general education courses as part of a degree program was widely accepted. It would give students access to other topics and expose them to areas their actual…