Page 90 - Crisis in Higher Education

64 • Crisis in Higher Education

important problems such as limiting access, increasing dropout rate, and
extending completion time. Before describing the root causes, the under-
lying problems are summarized.

1. Costs are too high: For decades, the costs for tuition, fees, and books
have risen much faster than the rate of inflation, making it more and
more difficult to earn an advanced degree without incurring sub-
stantial debt.
2. Other countries are closing the quality gap: The United States has
been and continues to be regarded as the best or at the very least one
of the best places to earn a university degree. But it is clear that other
countries are getting better.
3. Limited access: Access has improved because (1) more people are
aware of the opportunities for and the advantages of degrees in
higher education and (2) affirmative action requires institutions to
consider race as a positive factor for minority applicants. However,
access is worse because high costs for tuition, fees, and books put
an advanced degree out of reach for many students from middle-
and low-income families. Plus, too many students, especially in
urban areas, do not complete high school or graduate and are poorly
prepared.
4. Low graduation rate: Too many students who meet the admission
qualification start college but drop out before graduating. A four-
year completion rate of 39.4% and a six-year completion rate of
59.4% for students seeking bachelor’s degrees are not acceptable. See
Table 3.1 in Chapter 3.
5. Extended completion time: Students are taking too long to complete
a bachelor’s degree, which should be finished in four years. The data
in point 4 show that a significant percentage of the graduates take up
to six years to complete their degree.
6. Low job placement rate: Too many graduates are unemployed and
underemployed. Institutions have a responsibility to balance the size
of an academic program, the number of students admitted, and the
number of jobs available by providing information to students and
working with them to select fields of study where jobs are available
and compensation is good.

These problems cannot be fixed by passing laws, setting price controls on
tuition and fees, or establishing new government regulation. These simplistic