One of my own nephews and one of my own nieces. They both had a chance to get two years of free school at a community college, and they both passed up that chance in favor of taking on more debt.
Yes, tuition has gone way up, in part because states have reduced aid because the federal government has reduced aid.
But that does not have an impact on things like U of Phoenix. Which a recent article here said accounted for lots of student loan defaults.
Students are CHOOSING to take on these debts. They are getting lots of encouragement, probably, to do so. But again, people are CHOOSING to encourage them.
Much as I hate Reaganomics, those choices are NOT the fault of Reaganomics.
Another impact on college tuition is probably DEMAND. In 1980, there were 12.1 million college students, by 2010 that number had grown to 21 million. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_200.asp
And remember, college students in 1980 are sometimes called part of the baby BOOM. Even since 2000, the percentage of young people going to college has increased "the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college rose from 35 percent in 2000 to 41 percent in 2010." http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98. In 1980 the enrollment rate was only 25.7%. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_213.asp
What does basic economics say happens when demand increases?
And what happens when the supply of something like "college graduates" increases?
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