stimulant

From Phillip Greenspun’s wonderful textbook, Software Engineering for Internet Applications

In 1950 tuition at Ivy League schools was about $500 and the average new car cost nearly $2000 (4X tuition). In 2003 tuition is approaching $30,000 per year and a beautiful Honda Accord can be had for $15,000 (1/2X tuition). Thanks to improvements in design and manufacturing engineering, the relative price of an automobile has fallen by a factor of 8 while its quality has improved dramatically. Why has the cost of a university education soared relative to automobiles and other manufactured goods? Consider the classroom circa 1950: 25 students, 1 teacher, 1 blackboard, 25 chairs. Compare to the classroom experience circa 2003: 25 students, 1 teacher, 1 blackboard, 25 chairs. Even if universities were to exercise restraint in the hiring of administrative staff, the cost of tuition is doomed to outstrip inflation because education is the only industry in America where there are no productivity improvements.