Bacon's Rebellion

Virginians Unhappy With the Cost of College

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by

James A. Bacon
in

by James A. Bacon

In perhaps the most interesting question posed in the Virginia Commonwealth University Wilder School’s recent poll, 809 Virginians were asked if they thought the $26,500 average tuition charged by four-year colleges in the state was “worth it.”

Fifty-five percent disagreed — 30% strongly.

Higher ed faces a crisis in the value proposition it’s selling. Rising tuitions are pricing out less affluent Virginians, while the perception of rampant political correctness is turning off the half of the population that identifies as conservative.

Good question, Wilder School. I hope university administrators are paying attention.

Fortunately for entrenched university leadership, the population’s marketplace dissatisfaction has yet to translate into political dissatisfaction. Compared to other issues such as inflation, abortion, and immigration, “education,” which encompasses K-12 controversies as well as higher-ed, ranked as a top concern for only 6%.

Republicans were twice as likely as Democrats (36.2% versus 18.6%) to strongly disagree with the proposition that college tuition is “worth it,” suggesting a significant partisan or ideological component to the attitude. Likewise, males were more likely than females (35.8% versus 23.5%) to strongly disagree. Those in middle-income ranges were more likely to strongly disagree than lower- and upper-income respondents, although the disparities were less pronounced.

I often wonder why higher-ed hasn’t become a political issue as potent as K-12. An important difference between voters’ attitudes toward K-12 education and higher-ed, I conjecture, is that families have no alternative but uprooting and moving to another locality if they don’t like their kid’s public school. By contrast, families have hundreds of choices about where their kid can apply to college. And if they’re not happy at one university, they can transfer to another. Families may not be happy with the higher-ed value proposition, but they don’t feel as captive as they do by public K-12 schools. 

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41 responses to “Virginians Unhappy With the Cost of College”

  1. Nelson Fegley Avatar
    Nelson Fegley

    It was noted in the WSJ today that tuition, room and board is currently $85,000/year at Harvard.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      that’s cheap, all things considered.

    2. Teddy007 Avatar
      Teddy007

      Tufts expects to go over $100k a year in the near future.

  2. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    But that "average" cost cited is heavily skewed by UVA and W&M. Several are well below that.

    Isn't this the poll Wilder used to trash President Rao? That's the fun stuff.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I am wondering if that "average" cost accounts for financial aid that a lot of applicants receive.

  3. Teddy007 Avatar
    Teddy007

    If one wants to increase dissatisfaction with K-12 schools just move the college application process down to kindergarten. Such a system will develop with a 100% school choice system.

  4. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    There is one problem with your analogy with public schools. You point out that there are hundreds of colleges and universities to which a Virginia student can apply if he doesn't like the cost of a Virginia college. That's true, but the chances are pretty high that the cost of any of those private and out-of-state schools is going to be higher than that of Virginia schools for those eligible for in-state tuition.

    1. Randy Huffman Avatar
      Randy Huffman

      I thought of the same thing. But it is true that students do have multiple options, and in Virginia there are a number of good schools that have different areas of focus. There are options outside of Virginia that while may cost more, may not be "out of this league" high. I had a son over ten years ago who had an alternative to a good school in Colorado that provided a scholarship offer to help close the gap (though he ended up staying in state)

      The other major alternative to HS graduates is Community Colleges here for a couple years to figure out what they want to do and attend at much lower cost, before looking at finishing up at a 4 year school. UVA and others have pathways to transfer in after two years, and it does provide an economical alternative.

  5. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    About 20 years ago, spanning the millennium, when I had two kids in college, VCU cost less than $10k per year. I know that because I funded them with $5K EE bonds that matured to $10k. I would cash one a year apiece and have some left over at the end of the year after tuition, fees, books, room and board.

    While increases are inevitable, having college at a public university cost two and a half times as much after only two decades seems exorbitant.

  6. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    Honestly, it (VA college tuition) was the best investment I ever made for my kids' futures. It has paid off in spades.

    1. Not Today Avatar
      Not Today

      Better value for the dollar elsewhere. Similarly highly ranked public universities are 30%+ less for their instate students. What are VA tax dollars going toward if not to benefit their own students. Drive 40 minutes south to NC for a steal.

  7. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Well, we can always zero the tuition for in-state students very easily. Of course, will the cat ladies agree to it? After all, they have no stake in the future.

  8. Bob X from Texas Avatar
    Bob X from Texas

    Graduating college students would have a very difficult time passing a high school graduation exam from 1920.
    College today is an expensive extension of high school.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      This is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever seen. My grandson, who has completed just two years of college, has taken advanced math courses, computer science courses, an in-depth class on the Renaissnce, and has written a 15-page on John Locke, to name just a few of his academic endeavors. Next week, he will be leaving to spend a semester in Japan.

    2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      This is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever seen. My grandson, who has completed just two years of college, has taken advanced math courses, computer science courses, an in-depth class on the Renaissnce, and has written a 15-page on John Locke, to name just a few of his academic endeavors. Next week, he will be leaving to spend a semester in Japan.

  9. John S Davis, II Avatar
    John S Davis, II

    In the "for its worth department", my final semester at Old Dominion University in spring of 1972 cost $320 ( 220 tuition full time and 100 for books). I did not have a cost for room and board, only for transportation to get and from ODU. Using the inflation calculator ( https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ ), that would be $2,407.96 in 2024 dollars. No other fees that I remember. Sigh. The "good" old days.

  10. Kathleen Smith Avatar
    Kathleen Smith

    Considering K-12 attempts to make every student college ready, what does the 55% disagreeing really means. Are they unsatisfied that while public school may have prepared the student, it makes no difference if the middle economic standing parent can't afford it?

  11. Carter Melton Avatar
    Carter Melton

    I was on the VMI Board of Visitors for 8 years, and we struggled with affordability with every budget cycle.

    However, I think the abundance of available scholarships today really helps address this issue.

    The cost is certainly a problem, but in my opinion….then and now…..the real scandal in Higher Ed is the eroding value proposition. With the addition of near-worthless degrees in trendy "Studies", combined with grade inflation and lower academic rigor….you have a failing system on life support.

    When you consider the above, and the amount it costs…and the number of students drowning in student debt….we ought to be putting the hapless "leaders" of these schools in jail.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      True for many but not all. There still are jobs that still exist that do require a REAL degree and those jobs you ain't gonna do without a REAL degree. The real problem is not the result of the Colleges per se, it's people who want a "degree" lite in hopes it will get them a better job and the colleges have learned to how respond to that demand.

      For every guy/gal tending a bar with a degree, there is another who is a Doctor or Engineer or a scientist with a genetics company or AI company, etc.

      But this goes back to K-12 and which kids are taking the academics seriously and which ones have better thing to do – and often the kid and attitude is aligned with their parents views. What a waste to spend 12 years being lazy and then trying to add to it with a 4 yr "lite" degree.

      Not the colleges fault. They reflect their customers wants.

      1. Carter Melton Avatar
        Carter Melton

        Larry, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion it is the colleges' fault. In many cases, they are misrepresenting and fraudently selling…at obscene prices….a near-worthless product.

      2. Carter Melton Avatar
        Carter Melton

        Larry, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion it is the colleges' fault. In many cases, they are misrepresenting and fraudently selling…at obscene prices….a near-worthless product.

      3. Carter Melton Avatar
        Carter Melton

        Larry, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion it is the colleges' fault. In many cases, they are misrepresenting and fraudently selling…at obscene prices….a near-worthless product.

      4. Carter Melton Avatar
        Carter Melton

        Larry, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion it is the colleges' fault. In many cases, they are misrepresenting and fraudently selling…at obscene prices….a near-worthless product.

      5. Carter Melton Avatar
        Carter Melton

        Larry, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion it is the colleges' fault. In many cases, they are misrepresenting and fraudently selling…at obscene prices….a near-worthless product.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          customer demand… 😉 lazy folks looking for quick/dirty degrees , loans easy to get, Serious
          customers do good in k-12 as prep for 4 yrs and a quality degree that will get them a legitimate
          profession. The rest of the herd is looking for “easy” paths and easy loans. “Easy” degrees
          often have no focus path – other than Starbucks or similar and that’s how it ends up.

          Focused people become doctors lawyers, engineers, computer scientists, etc.. real degrees and real work.

          1. Carter Melton Avatar
            Carter Melton

            I had a 3×5 card pinned over my desk for 30 years. On it was a quote by Peter Drucker: "Concentration Preceeds Success"

            I'm with you on high fives for focused people :>)

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            we agree way more than not! I’m just not expecting any honor and duty from Colleges.. they’re truly “customer-oriented” these days. THey’ll provide you with a serious degree and they’ll provide you
            with a “lite” degree – as long as the money is right -and that’s no problem with govt loans these days.

            People DO make their decisions – the govt and the colleges are enablers, no question but at the end of
            the day – the reasons there are professionals and bar tenders with degrees is more on the guy/gal than
            others to blame. I know too many that got there by working hard to get good grades , get scholarships,
            get side jobs, work in summer, etc.. they got there with sweat equity. No one is going to give it to you
            and when you think that way , you also get that other bad habit of blaming others for your own messes.

            Kids who have parents who push them into getting good grades in K-12 and to think about a “plan”
            have a huge advantage over kids who do not.

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      thirty years ago, AI was a field of study looking for respect.

      1. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        Not much has changed for AI, but it will get better, too much better.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          It’s just that unless you can predict the future, then determining the value of a field of study is just as hard. George Boole didn’t see what anyone would do with his algebra.

          1. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            AI designing future AI iterations is scary. What could go wrong?

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Meh, humanity was overrated.

    3. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      Mr. Melton. My what a difference 100 years can make. My great uncle graduated in 1924. Tuition was free. Students had to pick up the cost for room and board.

      Today VMI is charging 20 grand for tuition and another 10 grand for room and board. The average first year starting salary of a VMI grad is $41,000. That is less than what an apprentice plumber makes.

      Our state politicians and our Boards of Visitors have utterly failed.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6226cc710d05ae38623c1b5a1f433f67086c060ca985d988d67ffa3b704e7d95.jpg

      1. Carter Melton Avatar
        Carter Melton

        Over the years of running a fairly complex organization, I learned to appreciate the issue of cost, but the acid test of success is “value”, and I have always believed that value is created at the intersection of cost and quality. You may find the following both interesting and informative.

        VMI Receives 5 Stars in Money Magazine Best Colleges List

        LEXINGTON, Va., June 13, 2024 — Virginia Military Institute has been rated a 5-star college in Money magazine’s
        Best Colleges in America list for 2024, in the magazine’s tenth year of
        publishing a Best Colleges list. Starting with a new system last year, Money assigns colleges a rating on a five-star scale, with five stars being the best. VMI was rated a 4.5-star college in 2023.

        More than 740 colleges were scored based on
        factors in three main categories: quality, which looks at graduation
        rates and Pell Grant recipient outcomes; affordability, which looks at
        both short- and long-term affordability, the net price of a degree, and
        the average student debt upon graduation; and outcomes, which is based
        on earnings and employment data 10 years after enrolling in the school.

        VMI also appears on this year’s Best Public Colleges and Best Colleges in the South lists. Money reports that VMI graduates typically earn a median salary of $77,000 early in their careers.

        Previously, Money magazine had a numbered ranking, and VMI came in at No. 5 overall out of the more than 620 colleges ranked on Money magazine’s 2022 Best Colleges in America list.

  12. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    While not as egregious as the medical industry escalation of charges far beyond payments it accepts in full for services, college scholarships are similarly abusive of those paying full price. Offering a discount to some while charging others more is a recipe for discrimination and is an abuse of public institutions.

  13. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “I have seen lives forever altered because someone didn't get into UVA, VA Tech, or W&M. On the flipside I have have seen folks walk out of those places with meaningless degrees and not much to show for it 15-20 years down the road”

    Both those scenarios are outliers. By and large a degree from any Virginia state university will serve most anybody well and is an excellent value investment and a degree from the most elite state universities in Virginia are highly sought after… exceptions notwithstanding…

    And where one goes to school or one’s ultimate degree rarely has any bearing on where one is in 15-20 years professionally.

  14. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “I have seen lives forever altered because someone didn't get into UVA, VA Tech, or W&M. On the flipside I have have seen folks walk out of those places with meaningless degrees and not much to show for it 15-20 years down the road”

    Both those scenarios are outliers. By and large a degree from any Virginia state university will serve most anybody well and is an excellent value investment and a degree from the most elite state universities in Virginia are highly sought after… exceptions notwithstanding…

    And where one goes to school or one’s ultimate degree rarely has any bearing on where one is in 15-20 years professionally.

  15. Alternate Opinion Avatar
    Alternate Opinion

    Anyone with kids or grandkids about to go to college should approach the entire process like they would if they were buying any other large ticket item and shop around, but they don't. They get caught up in the pomp and circumstance of claiming to be a graduate of XYZ university because that's all that really matters to them, not what the degree says. The Universities in turn do whatever it takes to maintain and accommodate this endless cycle of people seeking status, and what you end up with is a nuclear arms race of new buildings, degree programs, sports facilities, etc., and the only way to keep it going is higher tuition.

    I have seen lives forever altered because someone didn't get into UVA, VA Tech, or W&M. On the flipside I have have seen folks walk out of those places with meaningless degrees and not much to show for it 15-20 years down the road. Students have become bad, uneducated consumers. A fool and his money are soon parted, as they say.

    The best deal in Virginia is the Community College System, but it does not carry the grandeur of going to a 4-year institution. It appears the train is just going to keep on rolling down the track in favor of the current trends. Virginia Tech received more than 52,365 applications for the fall 2024 semester, which is an 11% increase from the previous year and a record high for the fourth year in a row. The university also received more than 3,500 transfer applications for fall 2024, which is another record. Virginia Tech expects around 7,085 students to accept their offer and enroll.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      I could not agree more. THe colleges are providing what people want and people (and their kids) are so focused on what they want , it's little better than getting Johnny a car he wants rather than the car he needs, can afford and should have instead.

    2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      “I have seen lives forever altered because someone didn't get into UVA, VA Tech, or W&M. On the flipside I have have seen folks walk out of those places with meaningless degrees and not much to show for it 15-20 years down the road”

      Both those scenarios are outliers. By and large a degree from any Virginia state university will serve most anybody well and is an excellent value investment and a degree from the most elite state universities in Virginia are highly sought after… exceptions notwithstanding…

      And where one goes to school or one’s ultimate degree rarely has any bearing on where one is in 15-20 years professionally.

  16. James McCarthy Avatar
    James McCarthy

    Poll data demonstrates its dangers. 319 of the respondents agreed while 413 disagreed. No info concerning the constitution of the respondent cohort (age, with children, college graduate, etc.) to evaluate the responses.

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