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As grade inflation and university fees spiral harmoniously upwards, most would expect to see this parade accompanied by a parallel of growing intellect, or at least common sense.  State legislative support for higher education is dwindling and students should question whether garnering loans and draining parental savings is worth the cost of academia. In addition, students should question how their dollars are being spent and demand transparency in university expenditures.  

While the data presented to support the degradation of the undergraduate degree is clearly extant, many glaze over these facts with a myopic vision that could only be claimed by today’s youth.  According to the most recent Census data, educational attainment has risen over 34% - a staggering 58 million US citizens have bachelors degrees.  Last year, approximately 21 million students enrolled for college.  As the percentage of college graduates increases, the degree students have worked so hard to attain becomes more ubiquitous; the degree no longer defines job candidates as unique or special.

The average annual cost of a 4-year university tuition is over $20,000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.  This number should not be examined with flippancy: by the time you graduate, that diploma you’re holding will have cost well over $80,000.  While universities are eager to give these diplomas a specious appearance of worthiness, you must keep in mind that over 21 million students just received the same diploma and are likely hunting for the same types of jobs you are.

Since February, unemployment rates have steadily continued to rise, leaving a current 14.1 million unemployed, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  That same batch of 21 million students must compete against the already unemployed population in an increasingly shrinking job-market, for what amounts to any job that will pay the impending student loan repayments.  Yet still students continue to see the value in a degree.  

The jump in average annual salaries is often how college students justify the necessity of a degree.  But college students don’t need to be blind as to the ways in which their dollars are spent.  They just need to be smarter.Recently, universities have added fees such as “special institution fees” without being transparent about the ways in which this money is spent.  If universities are becoming more expensive to run, how did Rutgers University afford to pay Jersey Shore star “Snooki” $32,000 to speak to the student body?  I know I didn’t pay my Student Activity Fees to see that funding allocated to the cast of Jersey Shore.  

If students demand transparency and public audits of funding, universities might be wiser about where their dollars go.  They might think twice about raising tuition and adding undisclosed fees to our bills, or cutting programs that actually benefit our growth.  As degrees increasingly becoming ubiquitous, and state funding dwindles, I propose that students become more cognizant of their dollars’ pathways as they journey through higher education.