Another semester has come, and with it, more tuition for students to stress over. According to the College Board, if a student enrolled in 2010, he or she can expect to pay $33,300 for a four-year public university — a 7.9 percent increase in the last decade. In fact, college costs have steadily risen faster than inflation for years, meaning every semester students (and their parents) are spending a larger percentage of their salaries on education, leading to an average student-loan debt of $20,000 by graduation.
Considering a quarter of those students will pay even more including late fees, it's not surprising that 7.2 percent of students drop out of college due to financial pressure. That means more than a million people end their pursuit of higher education every year because university tuition is out of control. Those are millions of doctors, lawyers and corporate executives this country loses.
It's not just the possibility of losing some great minds, but also the social mobility that higher education brings. Studies have consistently shown a college degree results in a higher salary and with it, a higher standing in society. But with tuition becoming so expensive and more lower-middle-class students postponing their degrees indefinitely, social mobility becomes less and less likely. In fact, a 2010 report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that in the United States, parental background has the highest influence on student achievement out of all OECD countries.
Western Europe, where heavily funded universities dominate, is where social mobility seems to be most prevalent. The estimated tuition cost at UF for the fall of 2011 was $5,657. When you account for books, supplies and health insurance, that cost easily increases by about $2,000. However, in Sweden, schools don't charge any tuition for citizens of any European Union nation. In Germany, universities such as the Berlin School of Economics and Law charge a mere $325 a semester; in Spain, college can cost as little as $25 per credit.
But the idea of the U.S. adopting such education policies seems highly unlikely. Even with an important election coming up this year, no candidate has talked about education reform. And why should they? College students have consistently come to the polls with low turnout. From a politician's point of view, why spend energy courting the approval of a demographic that has little influence on your re-election capabilities? And with budget cuts being introduced by Congress and Gov. Scott, it's not surprising that America's education system is in a defunct state.
By cutting waste in the government and redirecting formerly squandered money to the U.S. Department of Education, a free university could be possible. Eliminating Saturday mail delivery alone could save about $3 billion a year, and if we terminate the Government Printing Office by moving Congressional hearing information online, we could save $8 billion. Those are two things that could potentially bring more than $11 billion in new grants and scholarships annually without one tax increase. But this type of change seems to be a distant dream until college students get more involved in politics and force government to hear their needs.
Cody Futch is an economics freshman at UF.
