Follow the Money

I've posted here, here, and here about what I believe to be the single greatest reason for the above-rate-of-inflation rate of increase in the cost of higher eduction: federally subsidized student loans. Combined with the nondischargeability of such loans in bankruptcy (here and here), many students are virtual debt slaves for the remainder of their lives (Check here for an only slightly over-the-top post on student servitude.).

But where, you ask, is all of this federally subsidized tuition money going? Into the pockets of tenured and tenure-track faculty? Into creating more tenured faculty? Into research? No, no, and no.

The answer, as reported by Bloomberg here: college administrators. Multiplying like topsy, the ranks of college administrators are growing at ten times (that's 10X!) the rate of tenured faculty. Lest you think these are underpaid bureaucrats huddled in dark warrens deep underground, Bloomberg reports concerning a well-known state university that

Purdue has a $313,000-a-year acting provost and six vice and associate vice provosts, including a $198,000 chief diversity officer. It employs 16 deans and 11 vice presidents, among them a $253,000 marketing officer and a $433,000 business school chief

There's no way of easily discovering whether the same rate of unchecked growth is occurring at private universities since their financial information is, well, private. But one can only fear that they're not far behind.

Not only is the federal government artificially stimulating demand for higher education; not only are graduates facing a lifetime of debt repayment for an "education" that may have done little to prepare them for life but much of that debt is going for something that is not even likely to benefit those who are footing the bill. A sad state of affairs indeed.