While annual tuition increases are the norm across higher ed, the University of North Carolina system has bucked this trend and kept tuition level for 5 years now. Though some fees have increased in recent years, the UNC system has made a commendable effort in keeping prices low for North Carolina’s students. In 2016, the … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC System Keeps Tuition Frozen for 5th Year”
All students enrolled in UNC system institutions are required to have health insurance coverage. They also pay a Health Services Fee to their university. According to Blue Cross Blue Shield, The UNC System endorses a cost-effective Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) that covers additional health care expenses not included in the Student Health Fee. This … Continue reading “Did You Know? North Carolina Students Pay For Health Services Twice”
When students pay tuition, they also pay a mix of mandatory and optional fees. One constant headache for students has been paying for a parking permit to leave their car on campus. In the University of North Carolina system, parking prices can vary greatly. Parking passes for schools such as North Carolina State University and … Continue reading “The High Cost of Campus Parking”
The importance of college football to university education is vastly overrated. Rather than an integral part of the college experience, football means more student debt, another burden for taxpayers, and a compromised education for athletes. The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting universities to develop costly new teaching methodologies, require expensive campus protection strategies, and has caused … Continue reading “Is College Football an Expensive Luxury for Many Universities?”
College sports are a gigantic entertainment business that have nothing to do with the missions of the schools. Frequently, the highest-paid employee of a school is the football or basketball coach, and the athletics budget is hugely subsidized by fees paid by financially strapped students. Players who read and write at a middle-school level (if … Continue reading “How College Sports Turned into a Corrupt Mega-Business”
Editor’s note: This is an abridged transcript of a speech Richard Vedder gave at a Martin Center luncheon on January 30, 2020. I will concentrate today on the economics of higher education—why it is so costly, and a few things we can do about it. When I entered Northwestern University over six decades ago, the … Continue reading “American Higher Education: Beset with Problems, but Solutions Exist”
North Carolina public universities are more than just institutions of higher learning. They are each small cities of young adults with Olympic-level athletic franchises, massive dining and fitness clubs, and special interest hobby communities supported by extensive human and physical infrastructure. To fund the many perks and benefits of university life, schools charge extra fees … Continue reading “The Ever-growing Costs of Mandatory Student Fees”
Private colleges that compete with public schools are scrambling to find a way to keep attracting students. To do so, freezing or lowering tuition rates have grown in popularity to bring in cost-conscious young people. Colleges such as St John’s in Maryland and New Mexico, Wells College in New York, and Utica College in New … Continue reading “Did You Know? As Tuition Goes Up, Some Colleges Freeze or Cut Prices”
Public universities in North Carolina can’t fund their athletic budgets from only ticket and merchandise sales; they must use subsidies to foot the rest of the bill. Sometimes the extra funds may come from the government, but more often than not, they are mandatory student fees, paid regardless of whether students watch or play a … Continue reading “Did You Know? For UNC System Sports, Students Must Foot the Bill”
As March Madness hits and the public’s attention is on college basketball’s NCAA Tournament, few spectators know just how much the public subsidizes college sports. Within the University of North Carolina system, funding can range from $8 million at UNC-Asheville to an eye-popping $96 million at UNC-Chapel Hill. Revenue from broadcast agreements, ticket sales, and … Continue reading “March Madness Means Skyhigh Athletics Spending”