考研阅读精选：高校收费 应受管制
『忘掉贷款偿还上限和学费计算器，该是政府管管高校收费的时候了。』Why College Tuition Should Be Regulated
高校收费 应受管制
Oct. 27, 2011 | From Time
http://images.koolearn.com/casupload/upload/fckeditorUpload/2011-11-15/image/f374e255ec5b435ba9e102614700fc5d.jpg
Tuition at Stanford University in 1980-81 was $6,285.Thirty yearslater, Stanford’s tuition had risen to $38,700.Tuition in 2011-12 is$40,050.If the cost of milk had grown at the same rate, a gallon ofmilk would now cost approximately $15.
I haven’t yetpurchased $15 gallons of milk, but as a college advisor I have counseledmany students who are charged $50,000 per year for tuition, fees andcampus housing. According to just released figures from the CommonfundInstitute, the inflation rate for colleges and universities was 2.3% forfiscal year 2011, more than double the rate for 2010 and reversing adecelerating trend that began in 2008. Stanford, which estimates that75% of its undergraduates receive financial aid, is not out of thenorm.Drexel University, Carleton College and the Stevens Institute ofTechnology were among the 72 other schools that were more expensive thanStanford last year.
Since loans now comprise 70% offinancial aid packages, the growing tuition burden falls squarely onstudent-borrowers who may have saved for college but who still can’tmeet the high cost of attendance. Two-thirds of American undergraduatesare in debt.This year, student loan debt will grow to more than atrillion dollars, outpacing credit card debt for the first time. Ashundreds of thousands of high school seniors prepare their collegeapplications, and their parents compile documents required for financialaid, Congress needs to seriously consider legislation that will rein infuture tuition increases.
There are many reasons for thedramatic rise in tuition, including demand for better studentresidences, cutting-edge laboratories, IT improvements, cuts in statesubsidies and administrative growth. Regardless of which factors aremost significant, the fact remains that there has simply not been enoughexternal pressure to force universities to contain costs.Ironically,the accessibility of student loans, while admirable at first glance, hascontributed to tuition growth. And while President Obama’s recentproposal to cap student loan repayments depending on income is a step inthe right direction, it doesn’t address the bigger problem of runawaytuition in the first place.
This is where government needs tofirmly step in.The federal government contributes billions of dollarsto research and development on campus and allows universities tofunction as tax-exempt institutions.Self-policing of college costs hasnot worked; government needs to tie its support of higher education tocollege costs.
If universities raise tuition more than theConsumer Price Index, they should be required by Congress to take moneyfrom their endowments to fully fund grants for the correspondingincrease in need for students on financial aid.The 20 wealthiestuniversities alone are sitting on endowment funds worth $200billion.Three-hundred and sixty-seven colleges and universities controltax-exempt endowments worth over $100 million.
To enforcethe new guidelines, Congress and the Department of Education shouldcreate a commission that includes representatives of universities,Fortune 500 employers, consumer advocates and economists.Perhaps thiscould be a more expansive version of the 2005-06 Spellings Commission,which charted the future of higher education and suggested — but didn’tmandate — ways to better prepare students for the workplace.Ifuniversities don’t comply with the new guidelines, they will lose their501(c)(3) status — a great incentive to control tuition costs ratherthan pay taxes on donations and endowment earnings and lose the abilityto qualify for tax-exempt financing of infrastructure projects.
Admittedly, we need to strike a careful balance.We want to respectacademic freedom and the ability of educational institutions to plantheir own futures, but we can’t allow universities to continueoffloading rising costs on to the backs of the vast majority of studentsand families.Congress urgently needs to pass legislation that willprevent university costs from bankrupting the next generation of today’syouth. ( 628 words)
文章地址：
http://ideas.time.com/2011/10/27/why-college-tuition-should-be-regulated/?iid=op-main-lede
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