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AP Seminar

19 May 2020

Why College Tuition Should be Reduced

“Between 2003–04 and 2011–12, the percentage of bachelor's degree recipients who had

borrowed $40,000 (in 2012 dollars) or more rose from 2 percent to 18 percent” (Baum 62). Over

time students have had more trouble with paying off their student tuition and loans. Students

across the world have desires to attend college in search of an education and career. The high

cost, however, discourages people from attending. The common theme among the stimulus

materials is identifying challenges allows people to find their happiness. This relates to the idea

of college tuition, since the high cost is an obstacle that comes between a student and their desire

to get an education. If a student can receive an education, they are more likely to be satisfied

with life as well as have a future career. How impactful are the effects of student tuition and do

they require a need to reduce the cost? The issue has caused students to take massive loans which

can take years to pay off. These loans have shown an increase in stress among students that

decide to take large loans to pay off tuition. College enrollment has seen an increase, even with

increased prices. One reason for this is because of all the resources that aid in paying for college.

A popular way of paying has been loans. Sandy Baum, a former professor and now higher

education economist uses a table from the Federal Reserve Bank. The table shows that 28% of

loan borrowers took out loans between $10,000 and $24,999 dollars as of 2015 (Baum 61).

Reducing college tuition would allow students to obtain an education, lower the amount of

student debt and allow graduates to be more satisfied with life.

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One reason as to why tuitions should be lowered is because students have reasons and

purpose in attending. Reasons for attending vary and have changed across generations. San

Diego State Univ. and Univ. of California San Diego researchers Jean M. Twenge and Kristin

Donnelly wrote a report on these generational differences. Millennials, for example, are

interested more in the outcomes of a degree than the actual learning (Twenge, Donnelly 621).

Students now more than ever, want to have a successful career, but studying for some of these

careers involves studying expensive courses in college. One reason as to why students choose

not to attend, however is the cost of college. High tuition costs discourage students from

enrolling in fear of student debt. The high costs are a reason that students from troubled

backgrounds continue to live in similar situations with little opportunities. Programs that give

more students chances for the future have been successful. In a report by economists Katharine

G. Abraham and Melissa A. Clark, they analyze the District of Columbia Tuition Assistance

Grant Program (DCTAG). Their conclusions say, “This program reduced the costs of college for

D.C. residents significantly. Following the program's introduction, the share of D.C. high school

graduates who apply to four-year colleges appears to have risen somewhat, and the share who

enroll as college freshmen has risen markedly” (Abraham, Clark 606). This program is a time

when tuition-reducing actions have encouraged college enrollment. They go onto say that their

conclusions of students being price-sensitive should be taken into the consideration of policy

makers and schools. If more programs such as this were implemented for students, college

enrollment rates would rise, and students would be able to study what they have an interest in.

Having a college education and degree is now more important than ever and financial aid

programs allow more people to receive this important education. There has been a rise in these

programs, after the Great Recession, amid rising college tuition prices, mounting student debt
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and the growing need for more Americans to have a college education (Ordway). Denise-Marie

Ordway, a journalist for Journalist Resource wrote about these free college programs that have

been discussed during the 2020 elections. She goes on to discuss the effectiveness of these

programs. Reducing tuition is a way for politicians to gain supporters because of how relevant

and relatable this issue is for students. The research has shown that programs like this one should

be more available to encourage students to attend and receive a college education.

Student debt is a major issue among adults as a result of attending college. College tuition

is known to be costly and can take years to pay off after graduating. Students of course must also

pay while they are attending. This leads to some students taking on jobs while going to school to

earn enough to pay their tuition. In a report written by Wilfrid Laurier University economist,

Christine Neill, she concludes that, “Rising university tuition fees in Canada over the past

decades appear to have contributed to a rise in students’ in-semester work” (Neill 118). The high

costs have made it, so students need to balance their school life with their work schedule. Neill

goes on to say that tuitions continue to rise as more students get into the work force. The pattern

she notices is that “it would suggest that the students in these groups who tend to work more are

more likely to drop out in response to higher tuition fees” (Neill 118). These rising tuition fees

remain unaffordable for most people. This is shown in a study by Sandy Baum, an economics

professor at Skidmore College, who discusses some causes of these rising prices. She claims,

“Tuition prices, as well as the living expenses students must cover, have risen rapidly while

household incomes have grown slowly or even declined except for those at or near the top of the

income distribution” (Baum 135). Her economist view on this issue also provides some reasons

as to how students have been able to pay these rising prices. The introduction of grants and

financial aid have allowed more students to go to college. These students from less fortunate
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families, mainly Hispanics, has risen from 46 percent enrollment in 1978 to 71 percent in 2016

as “choices available to students have expanded to include more lower-price alternatives” (Baum

135). This goes to show that making financial aid programs more available helps to raise college

enrollment rates. This is important since students are now attending to prepare for high-income

careers, and post college opportunities mentioned in the previous paragraph. Gary Shapiro, the

president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association wrote an article for the daily mail

discussing the state of student debt. He claims, “The most massive loans are usually taken out by

postgraduate students. In fact, 40 percent of the $1 trillion in debt comes from those pursuing

postgraduate and professional degrees. One-quarter of the students in grad school take out loans

of $100,000, and 10 percent borrow more than $150,000.” (Shapiro). Overall, if more financial

aid was available, students would not be stuck in massive debt as a result of paying off tuition or

loans.

The third argument as to why tuition should be cheaper is because graduates report a

higher level of life satisfaction and happiness. When tuition is more affordable, more people can

attend and graduate. Having an education and a career makes people feel accomplished and valid

as a person. Boris Nikolaev, from Baylor University wrote a paper linking higher education to

various types of subjective wellbeing (SWB). He focuses on two measures of SWB; hedonic, the

positive and negative affect, and “eudaimonic”, which is engagement and purpose (Nikolaev

483). He concludes by saying, “substantial results emerge: (1) people with higher education are

more likely to report higher levels of eudaimonic and hedonic SWB, i.e., they view their lives as

more meaningful and experience more positive emotions and less negative ones”(Nikolaev 483).

His findings support the claim that more educated individuals show more signs of satisfaction

and fulfilment. This is also shown in the paper Genes, Economics, and Happiness by researchers
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De Neve, Christakis, Fowler, and Frey, where they say, “Better educated and married individuals

report having significantly higher life satisfaction … Having a job strongly raises life

satisfaction. This reflects the psychic benefits of being occupied and integrated into society” (De

Neve, et. al). People who graduate can feel successful because they achieved their goal, which

goes back to the point about students having reasons to attend. College is a step needed to be

able to have a career, which is why so many people value education. In some countries, a college

education is needed in order to succeed. University of Göttingen researcher Frank Schömer and

University of Seville researcher José González-Monteagudo wrote a paper comparing German

and Spanish participation in higher education. They say that “for those with higher levels of

education (a university degree or qualified vocational training) the rate of unemployment was

approximately half in comparison to people with a low educational level (pre-primary, primary

or secondary education). These data show the added value of education, especially in the current

Spanish situation of economic crisis, massive evictions and a decrease of living standards”

(Schömer, González-Monteagudo). In Spain, education is necessary to become successful and

satisfied in a country with little opportunity. Not only is education linked to better feelings of

satisfaction and happiness, but it also provides more opportunities to graduates which can be a

cause for these feelings.

Some argue that reducing tuition is difficult to do and that it does little to lowering total

costs. One point that is often brought up is having free tuition is not entirely possible. The money

must come from somewhere, which is why it is often funded by taxpayers. The debate is often

discussed by politicians. “Obama proposed funding Americas College Promise to the tune of $60

billion and paying for it with a series of taxes — including one controversial and short-lived

proposal to tax 529 college savings plans” (Morris 13). This comes from the Diverse Education
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writer Catherine Morris, who wrote the article “Pay it Forward”, discussing the national debate

to make community colleges free. Other costs are also taken into consideration when discussing

the reduction of tuition, such as living costs. (Nova). Annie Nova, a CNBC writer with a

master’s degree in business journalism from the CUNY Graduate School writes, “when colleges

lower their tuition, they tend to also scale back their financial aid packages. The net cost to a

family doesn’t change much, if at all” (Nova). People against tuition argue that the cost reduction

is not all that useful and still leaves students in debt, stressed out. Daniel Kahneman and Angus

Deaton wrote an article for the Center of Health and Well-being for Princeton University

discussing the relationship between high income and emotional well-being. A quote from their

article states, “being a college graduate is associated with high life evaluation but has only a

small association with positive and blue affect and a (perhaps) counterintuitive relation with

stress; all other factors being equal, college graduates report more stress than nongraduates”

(Kahneman, Deaton 18). While the argument of saying that graduates are likely to be stressed by

student loans, is truthful, the lowering of college tuition provides opportunities for those who

were discouraged by the price. Dr. Martha Kanter, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Higher

Education at New York University says, “Nothing is free … It’s got to be paid for somehow. But

to a student who doesn’t think that [college] is possible, ‘free’ means a door to the future” (qtd.

in Morris 13). Even though the prices of college could not be entirely free or drastically reduced,

more students are provided with the opportunity to obtain a higher education when it is more

affordable.

If tuition was reduced, more students would attend college because students have reasons

and goals to attend, tuition causes massive debt and because graduating results in greater life

satisfaction. Reducing tuition would benefit students in many ways. Going to college allows for
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future opportunities at a career, which is desired and valued in modern society. These graduates

with careers often go on to have a higher life satisfaction. Some graduates, however become

stressed due to student debt from loans. Reducing the costs of tuition through lower prices or

more resources to lower cost would allow for more people to attend, who used to have little

chance at affording to go to college. A program like this has proven successful, the District of

Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG). If programs like this are implemented,

more students would be able to have a more reasonably affordable tuition and providing future

job and career opportunities. Protests and petitions allow people to use their right of free speech

to convince colleges that more tuition-assist programs and tuition reduction should be done to

increase the number of students that can go to college.

WC: 2,080
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Works Cited

Abraham, Katharine and Clark, Melissa. “Financial Aid and Students’ College Decisions:

Evidence from the District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program.” Journal of

Human Resources, vol. 41, no. 3, Summer 2006, p. 578. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.3368/jhr.XLI.3.578. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.

Baum, Sandy. “How Students Pay for College.” Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, vol.

50, no. 3–4, Jan. 2018, pp. 135–141. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1195355&site=ehost-

live. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.

Baum, Sandy. “STUDENT DEBT: Good, Bad, and Misunderstood.” Change, vol. 49, no. 3, May

2017, pp. 60–70. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00091383.2017.1321442. Accessed 9 Apr.

2020.

De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel, et al. “Genes, Economics, and Happiness”, Journal of Neuroscience,

Psychology, and Economics 2012, Vol. 5, No. 4, 193–211. Accessed 16 Mar. 2020.

Kahneman, Daniel and Deaton, Angus. “High income improves evaluation of life but not

emotional well-being”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS),

vol. 107, no. 38, 21 Sept. 2010. Accessed 19 Mar. 2020.

Morris, Catherine. “Pay It Forward.” Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, vol. 32, no. 23, Dec.

2015, pp. 12–13. EBSCOhost,

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search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=111946736&site=ehost-live.

Accessed 18 Mar. 2020.

Neill, Christine. “Rising Student Employment: The Role of Tuition Fees.” Education Economics,

vol. 23, no. 1, Feb. 2015, p. 101. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/09645292.2013.818104.

Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.

Nikolaev, Boris. “Does Higher Education Increase Hedonic and Eudaimonic Happiness?”

Journal of Happiness Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, Feb. 2018, p. 483. doi:10.1007/s10902-016-

9833-y. Accessed 15 Mar. 2020.

Nova, Annie. “Colleges are slashing their tuition. Don’t expect to feel relief”, CNBC, 20 Aug.

2019. Accessed 19 Mar. 2020.

Ordway, Denise-Marie. “‘Free-college’ and ‘tuition-free’ programs: What the research says”,

Journalist’s Resource: Research on today’s news topics, 12 Dec. 2019. Accessed 1 Mar.

2020.

Schömer, Frank, and José González-Monteagudo. “Participation in Higher Education: Barriers

and Opportunities for Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education in Germany and

Spain.” Studies in the Education of Adults, vol. 45, no. 2, Jan. 2013, pp. 148–161.

EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1033604&site=ehost-

live. Accessed 17 Mar. 2020.

Shapiro, Gary. “Who Should Go to College?” U.S. News Digital Weekly, vol. 6, no. 27, July

2014, p. 16. EBSCOhost,

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search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=96928015&site=ehost-live.

Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.

Twenge, Jean M., and Kristin Donnelly. “Generational Differences in American Students’

Reasons for Going to College, 1971–2014: The Rise of Extrinsic Motives.” Journal of

Social Psychology, vol. 156, no. 6, Nov. 2016, p. 620. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/00224545.2016.1152214. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.