PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs

Re:PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover... by BeetleB on Monday May 23, 2022 @12:20PM (#31481031)

Typical culprits:

- Too much admin per student compared to 40 years ago

- (Much more likely): Severe decline in funds from the state. I know at least one nearby university that showed the data that the increase in tuition from 1980 to 2010 was almost entirely due to government cuts, and that the budget spending per student hadn't changed in that time frame - adjusted for inflation.

- Fancy buildings

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Re:PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover... by musicale on Monday May 23, 2022 @05:16PM (#31484861)

> - (Much more likely): Severe decline in funds from the state. I know at least one nearby university that showed the data that the increase in tuition from 1980 to 2010 was almost entirely due to government cuts, and that the budget spending per student hadn't changed in that time frame - adjusted for inflation

This may be a good explanation for public institutions, but what is the justification for private institutions?

For example, a year at the University of Pennsylvania (a private university) in 1980 cost about $7200 (equivalent to $25K today), but Penn currently charges about $75K per year.

What is the justification for the additional tripling of charges, even after adjusting for inflation?

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