The first pressing issue in higher education is tuition. Over the last twenty years, undergraduate tuition has increased almost 340 percent (Strohush & Wanner, 2015). One might ask, why are students paying significantly more today than 20 years ago? However, this question is often answered with a list of complex responses and solutions. Therefore, to better understand the effect of high tuition on undergraduates, it is imperative to examine the key factors that influence tuition, types of institutions and their costs, and recipients of tuition.
There are several factors that influence tuition, which dictates how much higher education institutions charge students to obtain an undergraduate degree. According to the College Costs, Prices and The Great Recession by Nate Jonson, there are a number of key factors that affect tuition. For example, Johnson noted influential tuition factors may include: instructional approach, location, size of institution, age or institution, and administration. Focusing on program type, a nursing program may cost almost double the amount of a liberal arts program (Johnson, 2014). In addition, if an institution uses an adjunct professor instead of …show more content…
For example, during the 2011-2012 academic year, the average public four-year institution spent an average of $14,000 on each student, classifying the amount used as an education and related costs (Johnson, 2014). On the other hand, the money was not singularly used on instruction and student services, but institutions also used tuition dollars to pay presidents’ salaries, maintain facilities, and to cover accounting expenses (Johnson, 2014). Private four-year institutions, on the other hand, spent an average of $22,300 on each student; conversely, the money was also used to cover additional expenses not directly related to the students (Johnson,
There are several factors that influence tuition, which dictates how much higher education institutions charge students to obtain an undergraduate degree. According to the College Costs, Prices and The Great Recession by Nate Jonson, there are a number of key factors that affect tuition. For example, Johnson noted influential tuition factors may include: instructional approach, location, size of institution, age or institution, and administration. Focusing on program type, a nursing program may cost almost double the amount of a liberal arts program (Johnson, 2014). In addition, if an institution uses an adjunct professor instead of …show more content…
For example, during the 2011-2012 academic year, the average public four-year institution spent an average of $14,000 on each student, classifying the amount used as an education and related costs (Johnson, 2014). On the other hand, the money was not singularly used on instruction and student services, but institutions also used tuition dollars to pay presidents’ salaries, maintain facilities, and to cover accounting expenses (Johnson, 2014). Private four-year institutions, on the other hand, spent an average of $22,300 on each student; conversely, the money was also used to cover additional expenses not directly related to the students (Johnson,