Discuss the rising costs of education and the increasing issues surrounding it by using sociological tools and concepts. Who is paying for the changes in school financing? Is it just the student? What is the overall cost to our culture? What do you see as possible solutions to the education-funding crisis?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Varies but should include some of the following information: The majority of students receive some form of assistance through scholarships, federal grants, or student state aid. However, the financial burden of a college education is unevenly distributed by social class with low and moderate-income students and families experiencing the burden most. So, an individual level issue is really tied to a social problem in this way, and in the fact that larger economic structural issues have driven the cost of education higher for everyone. According to the textbook, though only about a third of students pay the published tuition or sticker price, the cost of tuition has risen at a faster rate than family income or student financial aid. For the academic year 2016-2017, at a four year college in-state total fees (tuition, room, and board) were $20,090 (a 2.7% increase from 2015-16); at four-year private institutions, the average cost was $45,370 (a 3.4% increase from 2015-16) (College Board 2017). In 2007, even after grant-aid, low-income families paid or borrowed an amount equivalent to 72% of their family income to cover one year of tuition. In contrast, families with incomes between $54,001 and $80,400 had to be borrow 27% of their family income for tuition. The percentage was the lowest for families with incomes over 115,400 at 14%. Average debt for a graduating college senior in 2013 was $28,400.