Limiting college tuition hikes sounds like a great idea at first since every college student (and parent) would love to pay less for school. But on closer examination, Representative Howard ‘Buck’ McKeon’s proposal to limit increases to twice the inflation rate each year would overstep the government’s bounds, potentially hurt education and not truly address the problem of increasing tuition costs.
Colleges should retain their control over pricing. Every school has a unique financial situation, and raising tuition is an individual decision that should only be regulated by the schools. Education is an enormously expensive, complicated venture, and if a school charges more than students feel they get out of attending, those schools will fail to attract quality students. Tuition should continue to be limited by student reactions rather than specific laws.
Putting a limit on universities could also discourage schools from making large improvements. Attracting quality professors, developing new programs, offering small class sizes and constructing new buildings cost money, and schools mainly increase tuition in order to improve their campuses and education. Northeastern University is just one nearby example of a school expanding and working to dramatically improve its reputation. Penalizing tuition hikes for schools like Northeastern could also limit their options for improvement.
Moreover, this proposal does not delve into the underlying problems or realize that high tuition is not necessarily bad. Ideally, only those students who can afford to pay more would, giving schools more money to dole out in financial aid to those who cannot afford the cost of attending. Rather than getting involved with individual decisions better left to states and private institutions, the federal government should give more aid to states and students. That will actually ensure a college education is available to students regardless of the size of their bank accounts.
The government could improve education and access to it in many ways. However, McKeon’s proposal to link tuition increases with inflation is not an effective or well thought-out way to help either.
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