The Perfect Storm and the Privatization of Public Higher Education

Abstract

In this paper the author discusses the various factors which have contributed to a substantial decrease in state funding for public colleges and universities, including increased strain on state tax revenues, rising tuition costs, the discrepancy between public and private institutions in endowment revenues, faculty salaries, and expenditures per student. The author argues that this “perfect storm” of contributing factors threatens the very fabric of the public education system, and paints the dire consequences that could result from the privatization of public education.