Full-time college students are paying more for things that don’t directly involve instruction, researchers say, and the trend appears to be entrenched across the nation.
Those attending small and mid-size public colleges are actively subsidizing athletic programs. Those fees are generally wrapped up in budgetary line items called student activity fees rather than stating outright the funds will be go toward sports, concerts, etc.
On the flip side, college students attending private elite colleges are likely to pay for perks, such as $50 steak dinners or laundry services, which are staples in the “country clubization” of some college campuses.
“It is very clear that while there is a focus on keeping tuition down, nationwide, student fees are increasing at a rate of at least 13 percent more than tuition,” said B. David Ridpath, an associate professor at Ohio University during an email interview from Germany. “The bulk of those fees are in athletic subsidies and they are increasing even more as schools that cannot generate revenue to be self sustaining-try to keep up.”
No matter where the fees are collected, they are not always clearly defined to the student body, said Ridpath, who researched the issue and surveyed nearly 4,000 students. “Overwhelmingly students did not know how much they paid, and were surprised to find out. In addition the influence of athletics was not a major reason why they chose a school which contradicts what is being said—that a high profile athletic program increases enrollment, interest, fund raising. Most of the sample (of students who responded) would rather see that money spent on academic programs.”
Colleges and university officials might be missing the market when they offer extras in the form of fees, Ridpath said. “There are student-service programs that likely suffer as a result of this and even academics by extension. … We are out pricing the customer.”
Ridpath has collaborated with fellow researchers Richard K. Vedder, director of The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, and Jeff Smith, a business management instructor at the University of South Carolina Upstate, who draw similar conclusions in separate interviews.
