A writer and researcher on market influences and monopolies stated that the exorbitant expenditures of attending college set students up for failure and that higher education is frequently a “scam” and unneeded in some sectors.
Matt Stoller, director of research at the American Economic Liberties Project, said Fox News, “I believe that the financial parts of college or higher education have overtaken the ability to produce a citizenry on a fundamental basis.” This is akin to a slow-burning issue that we must investigate.
The average annual cost of attending a private college, including tuition, fees, books, and room and board, increased from $2,930 in 1971 to $51,690 in 2021, according to data compiled by the nonprofit organization College Board. According to a recent Sallie Mae and Ipsos poll, about a third of parents and students believe that college is overpriced.
“Columbia Journalism School is experiencing something of an existential crisis since their nine-month degree costs $120,000, and they’re asking, ‘Are we the problem?’” Stoller stated. “You guys are indeed the problem. You are not the sole issue. You are primarily a symptom.”
Stoller also views the high prices of elite institutions as a moneymaking ploy.
He told Fox News, “There is a swindle there.” I have been unable to determine the nature of that scam.
“This is the root of the problem,” he continued.
According to a survey by the National Student Clearinghouse, undergraduate enrollment fell by almost 650,000 students, or more than 4%, during the springs of 2021 and 2022.
“I believe that the purpose of education is to create citizens and a moral, self-governing community. Additionally, it allows you to find a job and develop a life,” Stoller said. I believe we are failing on all fronts, and we must investigate why.
He noted that colleges are “such a mess in terms of administrative bloat” and “burden individuals with a great deal of debt.” “You cannot graduate from college with significant debt and be a good citizen; you are now a dependent.”
Additionally, Stoller questioned the necessity of certain degrees, such as journalism.
The exorbitant cost of journalism school, he said, “indicates that it is more of a certifying mechanism for a social class than a practical approach to consider free speech in a democracy.”
In August, Politico Magazine ran a feature of Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School. In the article titled “Are We the Problem? Cobb analyzes the importance of journalism school and the condition of the industry in “The New Dean of Columbia J-School Struggles With Its Position in the Industry.”
The dean who believes Columbia will “be a conduit that helps make the [journalism] field more democratic” did not enroll in Columbia’s $120,000 nine-month program.
“Journalism was once a profession of the working class. “Writing a news piece is hardly rocket science,” Stoller, who produces weekly newsletters for his own Substack account, told Fox News. “You simply determine what is occurring and write it down.”
“Only a high school diploma is required for that,” he stated.
»The high cost of college is a’scam’ causing a’slow-burning problem,’ a researcher believes«