Colleges Reinforce Class Inequities

Richard Vedder, in commenting on the great wealth inequality within higher ed, notes that eight Ivy League schools have less than 1% of U.S. college students but nearly 17% of the wealth (as measured by endowments). More than half of the total endowed funds held by U.S. colleges and universities is in the hands of only 3% of the schools.

Yet, despite their resources and ample public subsidies, these wealthy schools educate very few students from low-income and working-class families. Vedder cites Princeton and Yale with endowments of roughly $2 million per student and the College of St. Joseph in Vermont with an endowment of only $29,000 per student. Only 12% of the former’s students are Pell-eligible compared to 71% at St. Joseph.

Of course, none of this is surprising. Nor is it surprising that it’s the wealthy institutions that attract the most money. Recently, Harvard announced a $150 million gift. That’s an amount larger than the entire endowment at most schools.

What’s the old saying about “the rich get richer . . . ?”

Vedder Diagnoses Higher Ed’s Ailments

Last Friday Ohio University economist Richard Vedder, director of The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, discussed higher education with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio (linked to full transcript). I don’t agree with everything Mr. Vedder has said about higher ed over the years, but I agree with most of it. Portions of the interview transcript appear below, with some reactions of mine at the end:

Kokai: We have heard quite a bit about this issue of what’s wrong with higher ed, especially [when] the president made a big deal out of this. … First of all, you think that some of his ideas made some sense.

The great mismatch between college and available jobs

The above chart was provided by Richard Vedder in his recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education titled, “Why Did 17 Million Students Go To College?” The table was first published by Christopher Matgouranis in this story about underemployed college graduates that was posted on the website of The Center for College Affordability & Productivity.

Students pay for colleges’ extravagance

College and university administrators, and boards, don’t seem to appreciate the value of money. Or perhaps they’re just insensitive to the value of other people’s money. Whatever the reason, the evidence is overwhelming that many of them have extravagant habits. And, of course, this extravagance contributes to the high cost of college, a cost borne not only by students and parents but also by all taxpayers in the form of massive public subsidies (grants, tax exemptions, tax credits and deductions, etc.). The City University of New York (CUNY) provides the latest example.