Americans are finding it more and more difficult to pay for college. The public is concerned that costs will continue to rise if action is not taken. A major contributor towards increasing tuition rates is health insurance premiums. Colleges and universities are forced to pass along costs to students to provide their professors and staff with healthcare.
College Tuition Rising
Tamar Lewin's article, "Downturn Expected to Drive Tuition Up,"published October 2008 in the New York Times, reported that tuition costs rose "6.4% for an in-state public four-year university." At the same time "graduate and undergraduate students received more than $143 billion in financial aid."
Though startling, the article highlighted that the increase was only modestly higher than the "consumer price index of 5.6%." Increasing tuition costs is a very sensitive issue for parents and students financing a college degree. The combination of increasing cost of living and tuition is slowly making a college education difficult to afford.
Healthcare Increasing Tuition Costs
Health insurance premiums are a direct instigator to rising tuition at universities and colleges around the U.S. A report published in by The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education expressed how healthcare is dramatically affecting tuition.
According to the article, education budgets are very sensitive to professor and staff costs. These costs include benefits associated with healthcare. "As much as 85% of costs associated with education go towards compensation," much greater than the "50-55% in most other industries." With health insurance premiums increasing much faster than inflation, costs are passed onto students to maintain staff benefits.
Difficulty Decisions for Universities and Students
Universities pressed to keep quality professors are unlikely to reduce health benefits to reduce tuition costs. Parents and students, furthermore, are affected with similar costs in their own lives. Rising health insurance premiums are putting a strain on all households, whether supporting a college student or not.
Rising costs in tuition will depend on addressing the entire system, not simply focusing on one area. It is not fair for students to pay more for school because of healthcare, a giant entity that accounts for over 16% of the nation's GDP. But fairness is not limited to students, as hardworking collegiate staff and professors deserve quality healthcare while providing young minds with guidance and knowledge for the future.
The future depends on providing quality and affordable education to anyone with the desire, commitment, and passion to better their own lives. Until America settles on an appropriate and cost effective health care system, students will continue to bear the added costs and inevitable loans to support their education.
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Sources:
John Immerwahr, Jean Johnson and Paul Gasbarra. "The Iron Triangle: College Presidents Talk about Costs, Access, and Quality." The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and Public Agenda. October 2008.
Keith Cronin - Keith is a physical therapist in the St. Louis area and enjoys writing on the topics of health, sports, and education. Keith provides ...
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