Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much

Rating:
Summary: High school counselor
Review: As a high school guidance counselor I can see the immediate value of Mr. Ehrenberg's book. In fact, it is the best book on the subject which I have read. It should also be of tremendous value to parents of college bound children and to college administrators. The language is highly accessible and the author makes his points clearly and succinctly. This book is a welcome addition to the field, and perhaps the very best of its kind.

Rating:
Summary: Writing from the Ivory Tower
Review: Ehrenberg's insight is amazing and the book is full of important and interesting information. As a parent of a college student, I found the book to be very helpful in explaining why tuition continues to increase at an incredible rate, why college administrators make the decisions they do and how tuition relates (or doesn't) to the quality of higher education. It is a wonderful resource for parents, students and educators, anyone who is interested in higher education. Kudos to Ehrenberg on a job well done!

Rating:
Summary: Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much
Review: Ehrenberg's insight is amazing and the book is full of important and interesting information. As a parent of a college student, I found the book to be very helpful in explaining why tuition continues to increase at an incredible rate, why college administrators make the decisions they do and how tuition relates (or doesn't) to the quality of higher education. It is a wonderful resource for parents, students and educators, anyone who is interested in higher education. Kudos to Ehrenberg on a job well done!

Rating:
Summary: High school counselor
Review: Excellent insight into the ever rising costs of college. It explains why colleges can keep upping their fees and does so in a manner that is easily understandable. I recommend it for anyone interested in Higher Education.

Rating:
Summary: Writing from the Ivory Tower
Review: Tuition Rising is serious disappointment. The entire book is a long-winded justification of why college cost so much. Instead of exploring on a few fundamental social or governmental changes affecting college tuition, the author simply discusses in-depth each expense that schools have. For example, there is a whole chapter on parking and transportation, and another chapter just about cooling systems.

While Ehrenberg rambles on about the minutia of college finances, he never really explains why colleges' expenses rise at a much faster rate than other sectors of the economy. Many businesses must pay for transportation, cooling, and everything else that colleges do, do not have skyrocketing prices.

Tuition Rising does not ever mention the possibility that government financial aid programs have given universities the green light to spend excessively, since many students can get loans or grants to cover the cost increases. College costs are no longer subject to free-market economics, which generally causes prices to be low. In fact, Ehrenberg thinks the problem of college affordability can be alleviate with more federal financial aid!

This book is at best a boring compilation of college expenditures. Worse yet, Tuition Rising makes high tuition increases seem unavoidable, or even justified.