Spectrum

Dr. Richard Vedder, Director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, DC, notes that the costs of higher education have increased markedly in recent years while the value of a college degree may be diminishing. To counteract these trends, he says that colleges and universities must implement reforms and modernize. But, the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at Ohio University notes that reform is an alien concept to many administrators and faculty in high education. In short, universities are reluctant to change and when change occurs it is at the slowest of glacial paces. Dr. Vedder notes that the costs of higher education have doubled since the mid- 1990’s yet family incomes have not kept pace. He also cites that the cost of college has increased 16.5% between 2006 and 2014.. He also claims that nearly 40 million Americans have college debt which collectively equals about $1.3 trillion dollars. Yet, the gap between the earning power of a college graduate and a no