Search results for: “College Fees”
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Students Gaining Bargaining Power with Colleges
by James A. Bacon In a properly functioning marketplace, consumers exert power through their ability to comparison shop and bargain with sellers. One of the main limits to this consumer power is something economists call “information asymmetry.” Information asymmetry occurs when sellers of a good or service possess more information than buyers, and it typically…
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Higher Ed Bonds, Fees, and Donations
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Almost totally overlooked or ignored among capital projects in the budget bill are those higher ed projects financed with revenue bonds. They are probably ignored because their passage does not affect the state’s debt capacity and tax revenues are not needed for debt service. Nevertheless, they do have an impact on Virginia…
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UVa Gearing Up for Another Hike in Tuition & Fees
by James A. Bacon Later this week the University of Virginia Board of Visitors will consider increasing tuition by 3% to 4% in the 2020-21 school year and jacking up fees between 3% to 6%. Here is a copy of the PowerPoint presentation showing the arguments and data that the administration presented the board in…
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Community Colleges and the Opportunity Society
by James A. Bacon What does it take to create an Opportunity Society? One critical element is providing Virginians with the skills they need to be employable in the occupations of the future. Nearly three out of five jobs created between now and 2026 will be “middle skill” jobs requiring community- or career-college training, not…
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Tuition Stable but College Costs Still Up
Thanks to an increase in state support, Virginia’s four-year colleges and universities held tuition mandatory E&G (education and general) fees stable this year for in-state undergraduates. However, according to the latest Tuition & Fees report from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the total cost of attendance including room, board, and fees for…
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A Free Market Path to “Free” College Tuition
Bernie Sanders, a leading Democratic Party candidate for president, has proposed making college “free” and erasing all $1.6 trillion in student debt. He calls the cost of higher education a “national disgrace,” which it is. But his proffered remedy is so wrong-headed that it’s all I can do to keep steam from shooting out of…
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More Public Input Coming for College Tuition Hikes
Before voting on tuition increases, board members of Virginia universities will have to listen to public input from students and families, if Governor Ralph Northam signs a bill passed by the General Assembly. SB 1118 sponsored by Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, with a companion bill sponsored by Del. Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, would “require governing board[s]…
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Empower College Trustees with More Data
In the previous post Steve Haner shows how Virginia’s public universities have relentlessly jacked up tuition and fees since 2010. What can be done? Students and parents can pick other colleges and universities — but most institutions have been raising tuition & fees just as aggressively. Alternatively, the General Assembly can try micro-managing the institutions…
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Drum Roll, Please. And the Top Ranked Virginia Colleges Are…
Oh, my, U.S. News & World-Report has just published its Best College rankings for 2018. Poring through college rankings is like slowing down on the Interstate to check out a car wreck — you know you shouldn’t do it, and you know it’s a waste of time, but you do it anyway. So, for your…
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Shrinking Community Colleges Looking to Pivot
Nothing like losing a quarter of your customers to get your attention. That basically is what has happened to Virginia’s Community College System, with last term’s enrollment down 57,000 (actually only 22 percent) from its peak six years ago during the early days of the economic recovery. That drop exceeds the total enrollment at the…
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Transparency Coming for College Financial Aid
Last week I blogged about the confusion engendered by many colleges and universities when they send students details of their financial aid packages along with their acceptance letters. The terms and conditions spelled out are often opaque and sometimes deceptive. “If Congress doesn’t act,” I suggested, “the Commonwealth of Virginia could require a standardized letter…
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The Case for Freezing Tuition & Fees
The following position paper was published by Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust, a sponsor of the Bacon’s Rebellion blog. ISSUE: Tuition and fee increases at public colleges and universities are unaffordable for many Virginia students and families, and must be frozen. PROBLEM: Tuition and fees at Virginia colleges are increasing at an out-of-control…
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Make College Trustees More Accountable to Students, Taxpayers
James V. Koch In a competition to woo students, public universities are increasingly offering lavish amenities that have nothing to do with education. The latest trend is lazy rivers, which have been installed at several big institutions, including the Universities of Alabama, Iowa and Missouri. Last year, Louisiana State University topped them all with a 536-foot-long “leisure” river in…
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What’s Driving up the Cost of Attendance at Virginia Colleges?
In the 2017 State of the Commonwealth Report, authors Robert M. McNabb and James V. Koch address the perennial question of why the price of higher education is increasing so much faster than everything else. While acknowledging that stagnant state financial support for the higher-ed system has played a contributing role, they insist that’s only…
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Gross vs. Net in College Tuitions
How expensive are Virginia colleges and universities compared to their peers in other states? The cost of attendance, including tuition, fees, room, board, books and supplies at four-year public Virginia colleges and universities in the 2016-17 school year averaged $26,904 — only a hair higher than the national average. This data is taken from a…