In most people’s minds, seeing a college cut tuition is about as likely as seeing Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster. But no bubble lasts forever, and signs that the higher education bubble has begun to burst are becoming more and more frequent.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Ohio’s Ashland University has cut its tuition by 37% this year. And while Ashland is reducing institutional financial aid, “it says it is still lowering the net price that most students will pay.”
Why are they lowering tuition? As the Chronicle reports:
The changes in tuition and aid are meant to reduce the sticker shock that potential students and parents might experience when weighing Ashland against other college choices, campus officials said in a news release.
In other words, with college becoming prohibitively expensive for a growing number of families, Ashland is trying to compete.
Ashland University isn’t alone. Seton Hall University, the University of the South, Belmont Abbey College, and others have all cut tuition in recent years.
As the higher ed bubble begins to deflate, the forces of competition can finally begin to work their magic. And we will all be the better for it.