American Association of University Professors
A college degree–and all of its benefits–didn’t always cost this much. Since around 1980, tuition and fees have increased far faster than inflation. At the same time, policymakers in Ohio and Washington, D.C. reduced grant aid and shifted toward student loans, placing more of the financial burden directly on students and families.
This shift reflects a broader ideological change. Higher education was once viewed as a public good worthy of public investment. Beginning in the 1980s, it was increasingly treated as a private commodity—something individuals should pay for themselves. As public funding declined, students and families were forced to borrow to make up the difference.
The irony is striking: many of the same voices that championed the shift from grants to loans now point to the debt from those loans to question whether students are getting their money’s worth. It’s a losing-and false- argument since study after study has shown that people with a bachelor’s degree earn significantly more, about $1 million more over the course of their career, than those with only a high school diploma. Yet, policy makers in Ohio and D.C. stopped funding higher education and told working families to figure it out—using loans and amassing debt to go to further their education.
If we’re serious about value, we need to focus on and invest in what actually drives student success.
Faculty are the foundation of higher education. They teach, mentor, conduct research, connect students to careers, and shape the intellectual and professional growth that defines the college experience. More than 90% of students report turning to faculty for guidance—clear evidence that faculty-student relationships are central to student success.
And yet, faculty are not where most tuition dollars go.
Faculty salaries and benefits typically account for just 18–25% of public university budgets in Ohio—and roughly one-quarter to one-third nationally. Despite this relatively small share, faculty compensation has grown slowly compared to tuition. Between 1990 and 2000, for example, tuition at public four-year institutions rose 48% (adjusted for inflation), while faculty compensation increased by only 4%.
At the same time, colleges have made choices that move resources away from instruction.
Administrative staffing has surged. Since the late 1980s, the number of full-time non-academic professional staff has doubled at public universities and grown by more than 40% at private institutions. Today, faculty are a minority of full-time staff, with administrative roles often outnumbering faculty positions by as much as 3 to 1.
Institutions have also increasingly replaced full-time, tenure-track faculty with lower-paid, part-time adjunct instructors. Today, about 40% of faculty positions are part-time. While this shift may reduce costs in the short term, it often comes at the expense of student support, continuity, and educational quality.
Meanwhile, colleges continue to invest heavily in amenities and large-scale projects designed to attract students—from luxury housing to multimillion-dollar athletic facilities. These spending priorities reflect competition for enrollment, but they raise an important question: are institutions investing in what matters most for student learning?
Even as sticker prices can overstate what students actually pay—and have even declined slightly in inflation-adjusted terms in recent years—the long-term trend remains clear: students are paying more, borrowing more, and shouldering more risk.
If we truly care about affordability and student outcomes, we need to realign our priorities.
That means reinvesting in faculty—the people most directly responsible for student learning and success. It means strengthening full-time teaching and mentoring, not replacing it. And it means asking hard questions about administrative growth and spending choices that do little to improve educational quality.
Higher education is an institution, not a business and college is not just a product—it’s an investment in an individual AND in advancing society’s collective future. And at the center of that relationship is faculty. If we want students to succeed, faculty cannot remain a shrinking priority in a growing budget.