1. the decline of research grant funding from government/NGO sources (started in the 80s with the waves of retrenchment shutting down what were once well-funded research programs sponsored by NIH, for instance.)
2. unis have been dealing with the pressure so far first by retrenchment, offering early retirment, cutting costs, shuffling off burden of teaching load on to adjuncts and TAs. they've reached their limit.
3. decline of gov grant monies
4. rise of student loan market (and all the tertiary products)
5. demand to run uni like a business - started in early 90s -- to deliver profits. used to be that the competition meant that unis would try to offer more "value" such as "student centered research university" to justify why they were charging so much tuition. No longer possible? Must raise tuition even more?
6. demand - status competition?
7. recent surge - decline of revenues due to burst of real estate bubble
8. unis paying for idiotic expansion into real estate where they once bought and built as investment, used "equity" for funding - no longer possible with real estate crash
At 11:59 AM 2/27/2012, Carrol Cox wrote:
>Doug Henwood
>
>
>ravi wrote:" My guess is that the OP (to extend the term) meant that bit to
>counter the usual liberal belief that a college education will somehow make
>things better for all. The idea that if only we could get everyone a degree
>then all will be well, which can motivate calls for free college education.
>
>DH] All will be well? Of course not. But it can't hurt.
>
>Why do you think the bourgeoisie wants to make it expensive? Doug
>
>----------
>
>What evidence is there that " the bourgeoisie" (as a class) care much either
>way. They care about social spending. They care abut anything that raises
>the increases the bargaining power of workers. They care about a stable
>world in which there are no wild-card nations in control of vital resources
>(e.g. oil). But is see no evidence of any unified capitalist concert about
>the price of college as such. Some capitalists obviously do: those testing
>firms that do both the testing and the grading for various vicious policies
>being introduced into college training. They make money. But no capitalist
>concern in the abstract.
>
>Carrol
>
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