According to the College Board, the cost of tuition at a 4-year public university doubled between 1980 and 2006. The pace of increase is accelerating with a 35% increase in the past 5 years alone. (Source: Economic State of Young America).
According to the National Retail Federation, college students are expected to spend about $10.5 Billion gearing up for and attending college this year. But tuition is only a fraction of the story. According to a very cool graphic assembled this spring by Westwood College, just 19% of college student spending goes to tuition. Another 26% goes to to room and board. Where does the rest of the money go? Most goes to consumer goods and services – travel, apparel, textbooks, entertainment and ‘discretionary’. The National Association of College Stores says students spend about $750 in their college store, only $488 of which goes to textbooks and course materials.
However you size it, college, and preparing for college is big business. Department stores like JC Penney and Bed Bath and Beyond each have specific college directed efforts and there are dozens of web businesses like collegepad.com that would love to outfit your dorm. The College Board even offers a handy checklist to make sure you don’t forget the band-aids and Neosporin, much less a bottle opener or DVD player.
It’s possible 2009 will see the peak for college spending. Not only has the recession put pressure on decisions about where students apply and attend, it may also alter how they go to school. According to Engage Gen Y, educators, parents and students are taking a hard look at these alternatives to expensive textbooks.
Chegg: Allows students to rent their book for class at a discount of more that 50% and have it delivered to their door. Chegg plants a tree for every book rented.
CourseSmart: Offers digital versions of traditional textbooks from some of the major publishers in the industry.
Textbook Media : Textbooks and study guides provided online through a web-based book reader, offered free to students through sponsorships from national brands.
Flat World Knowledge : An open-source textbook provider that provides online textbooks in a reader to students free of charge. Students pay for premium services.
Beyond text books, as online education becomes more mainstream, the ‘college experience’ itself, as least as I knew it with four years at college living on campus, may become the premium or luxury option, not the default. This summer, my son is taking an online high school ‘health’ course for credit from BYU.edu. If he likes it, it may shape how he thinks about college. And according to Time (July 29, 2009, “Can Community Colleges Save the U.S. Economy?“), community colleges are enjoying record enrollment surges from laid off workers and students looking to save on room and board.
