The Great American College Tuition Rip-Off [Spiral-bound]

Paul Streitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

The Great American College Tuition Rip-Off is an examination of why American colleges and universities have extraordinarily high tuitions and why those tuitions grow faster than the rate of inflation.

Increased money available for college through loans, scholarships and government grants has not made college tuition more affordable. Colleges and universities quickly up their expenditures to meet the revenue available and then cry poverty to their alumni.

It examines Hamilton College showing trends in tuition, number of faculty, comparison to non-elite colleges and other information. It examines the role that U.S. News and World Reports plays in increasing college tuition. It determines that college tuitions are not set by the actual costs of running a college; rather, tuitions are set by how much money an institution can charge parents and students. It shows the dramatic increases in the number of faculty, administrators and staff. It shows the proliferation of courses and extra-curricular programs unnecessary for an education.

The book determines that the financial objective of colleges and universities is to spend as much money as possible, with no sense of cost consciousness or the impact of higher tuitions on students. The institutions then raise tuition and ask for more money from the alumni. Tuitions are not set by costs, but by demand.

It concludes that parents and students must organize into Parent-Student Associations and make tuition a matter of collective bargaining.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Streitz is a graduate of Hamilton College and the University of Chicago Business School. He was an infantry platoon leader with the 82nd Airborne, Vietnam. He is the co-author of the musicals, Oh, Johnny and Madison Avenue, the subliminal musicals. He is the author of the biography of Shakespeare: OXFORD: Son of Queen Elizabeth I. His next book will be BRING BACK THE JOBS: Why America Must End Free Trade, Stop Outsourcing and Close Our Open Borders.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

The financial tactics of modern private education are akin to the rape and run tactics of U.S. mining companies. These companies have historically stripped the land of all the valuable ore and then run from the environmental damage left behind. The citizens of the state and federal funds pay for their short-term horizon and their denial of the secondary effects of their policies.

In a similar fashion, tuitions are set by the colleges based on how much money they can extract from parents and students. There is absolutely no thought about the long-run consequences to the students, the parents or the society. Colleges and universities regularly expect parents will go into long-term debt, such as a second mortgage, to finance their children’s education. This is asset stripping at its worst.

This book will show that the tuitions are not set by the actual cost of an education. Tuitions are set by how much money a college can charge.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 47 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Institute Press (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971349827
• ISBN-13: 978-0971349827
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,043,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Opened My Eyes to the Disgrace That Is Higher Education Tuition!, June 27, 2005

By 

Nathan Speicher (Rome, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great American College Tuition Rip-Off (Spiral-bound)

The book paints a clear, disturbing, and logical picture of the rip-off that is the American higher education system. Anyone who is familiar with the "U.S. News and World Report" college rankings will be disgusted with USNWR's contribution to the torrid pace at which tuition has been increased over the past 2 decades. This book reveals the shocking truth that American colleges spend huge sums of money (thus, raising tuition) in order to increase their rank on the USNWR. If you want a book that will quickly and clearly explain why a college education now costs $160,000 and is no longer affordable to the average family please read this book. The middle-class is getting squeezed and this book shows why, but more imporantly how the problem the problem can be solved. Mr. Streitz has written a valuable and timely book which should be read by every parent and student in this country.

Thank you,

Nathan S.
Rome, NY
Student - University of Connecticut

2 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars And... what about financial aid?, May 17, 2005

By 

Andy (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great American College Tuition Rip-Off (Spiral-bound)

Tuitions are going up every year, but so is financial aid. The tuition number is just another "prestige" item that a college/university can boast about. Check out the article The Socialist Economics of College Tuition - Why elite universities charge $38,000 per year, and why they don't expect you to pay it.

"the real cost of private colleges hasn't increased in the last two decades-contrary to the conventional wisdom that tuition inflation has priced the most selective schools beyond the reach of middle-class families."

http://slate.msn.com/?id=2066353