Social Entrepreneurs for Education Needed

We need to do a better job on public education around the politics of education…

A recent article from the New York Times helps.

We see that the data tells a story that is inconsistent with the story told by state legislators…

Public Colleges collect almost exactly the same amount of revenue per student today as 25 years ago.

$11,500 today compared to $11,300 in 1988, adjusted for inflation and in 2013 dollars.

What has changed?

State legislatures have reduced their contributions toward higher education from an average of $8,600 per student in 1988 to $6,100 per student today.

Result?

Students are paying a larger portion of the $11,500 than the portion they paid of the $11,300…$5,400 compared to $2,700 in 1988. 

Thus, from a student’s perspective public college tuition has doubled; from the perspective of public colleges revenue has remained flat.

And the state legislators blaming rising tuition on college waste and high faculty salaries are not only telling a misleading story; they are telling a story designed to be misleading, designed to misdirect student anger from the lack of leadership in the state house and redirect it onto the backs of faculty.