Discussion of why college tuition is so expensive

Recently, I joined in on a discussion of this FB meme photo.

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Discussion

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GerryS

This is absurd.

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BobM

Nicely explained. Why do cost keep on rising. There is more complexity to this than price comparisons. I mean an automobile from that time is not the same, a tv is not the same, even a phone and how we use them isn’t the same

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VickiF

Higher education is a labor intensive industry: meaning you need a lot of people to teach, counsel emotionally, advise academically, navigate internships/study abroad, coordinate schedules, process applications, set up technology, purchase supplies, raise money for extra activities, clean dorms, classrooms, labs open 24 hours a day. Universities now provide police services, health services, counseling services, student recreation, student organizations, environmental safety, etc. Students are graduating into global, complex economies, societies, and cultures. No career is 30 years in one job. Students have to be flexible, communicate, empathetic, no matter the major. This all costs $$$$ and cannot be outsourced to robots.

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GerryS

Vicki, yet interestingly some of the lowest paid employees are Adjunct or affiliate faculty. The administration make way more money.

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FMB

VickiF, thank you for your comment. There are many things that cannot presently be automated in education. But this changes as technology advances. Over time, education (including the work of academics) has been automated. For example, both writing and the printing press are examples of how edtech has been used to automate the work of academics. Writing automated the work of story tellers, the printing press the work of scribes.

I’ve blogged about all of this before. So, here’s first of two blog post responses to your post:

How to Create a Tuition Free, Public, Online University to Produce Free Online Textbooks and Courses

(see reference section for links)

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FMB

VickiF, thank you again for your thoughtful comment. Here’s my second blog post response to you comment:

Educational Technology and the Process of Teaching and Learning

(see reference section for links)

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References

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Beshears, Fred

How to Create a Tuition Free, Public, Online University to Produce Free Online Textbooks and Courses
https://memeinnovation.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/how-to-create-a-tuition-free-public-online-university-to-produce-free-online-textbooks-and-courses/

Educational Technology and the Process of Teaching and Learning
https://memeinnovation.wordpress.com/2021/11/27/educational-technology-and-the-process-of-teaching-and-learning/