Editorial: a message to higher education

Reflecting back on high school, what one big thing was on all of our minds? For many students, the answer comes immediately, in the form of two daunting words: college applications.

Many students learn that attending college is the natural next big step to take after earning a high school diploma.

By now we know that this isn’t always realistic—not only is college costly, but the application process is also prohibitively expensive. 

Tutors, textbooks, AP exams, SAT and ACT testing fees… , even the opportunity costs necessary to get a certain grade or score and not to mention the college application itself; it all has a price tag which not everyone can afford.

This past January, 16 of America’s most elite private universities and colleges were called into question when they found themselves the focus of a federal lawsuit claiming their participation in a price-fixing cartel.

In other words, a number of prestigious institutions are being sued for allegedly working together through a shared formula used to calculate the financial need of applicants and thus limit or eliminate financial aid packages provided to students, despite their “need-blind” admissions system. 

As a result, thousands of students have been overcharged for their education.

Those accused include Brown University, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, Vanderbilt University and Yale University.

There are barriers when it comes to higher education to begin with, and these practices make it even more inaccessible

Over the past two decades, college tuition has increased in price more than any other good or service besides hospital care. College tuition has more than doubled since the turn of the century.

Not to mention, Dr. Jill Biden recently confirmed free community college on a national basis is no longer on the table despite it being one of the major pieces of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

While fingers point to increased spending on administrators, overbuilding of campus amenities and the easy availability of subsidized student loans, the fact of the matter is that these tuition-increasing practices persist because higher education institutions are not fully transparent about their true prices.

When we think of colleges and universities, we view them as academic institutions. Yet, at the end of the day, they’re all businesses. Higher education prioritizes the money they’re making over the students they’re educating—oftentimes private institutions find themselves more prone to this. 

Remember Operation Varsity Blues, the 2019 federal investigation that caught dozens of parents, coaches and exam coordinators in the midst of a college admissions scheme? The one that let the American public see how wealthy and well-connected donors could buy their children’s admission to college? Yeah, money talks. 

As students of Lehigh, we periodically see money as a top priority—especially amid the pandemic, when money was being put towards the planning of large, in-person events for alumni and prospective students while campus resources struggled to meet the needs of current students.

Regardless of what people think is the true reason behind increasing tuition costs, it is a fact that higher education is viewed by society as an important investment in one’s future.

Yet, less than half of Americans aged 25 and over have a college degree.

Sure, more and more schools today are becoming test optional, meaning that standardized test scores are not required for a student to be admitted. This is helpful for those who can’t afford test-prep or the exam fees themselves. However, are schools taking this step because they really have our interests in mind?

Regardless, this price-fixing lawsuit shined an even brighter light on one of the top concerns our education system has: money. 

If our colleges and universities go so far as to make bold statements distinguishing themselves as “agents of change,” let’s see some real change.

Start making academic opportunities more easily attainable for everyone—not just those who have lived comfortably their entire lives and will likely continue to do so after investing in a college experience. 

We’ll leave you with this: Prioritizing the wealthy and impeding the financially needy are two sides of the same coin. It’s time to do something about it.