A long time ago, college costs actually were not increasing at all. Based on the graphs I'm seeing in a couple of sources, there actually was a period from roughly 1965 to 1985 where college costs in the US were more or less at a sustained level.
From the 1940s to 1960s, college costs were rising some, and from 1985 to 2003 costs also increased some. But the rate of increase after 2003 definitely is higher.
Both sources are blaming things other than student loans for rising costs. I will say the second link is intriguing, in that it postulates that state education budget cuts play a responsibility in rising costs. This might go hand in hand with the student loan balloon: basically, the cost of college is shifting heavily to the individual student, but in a very poor manner if the end goal is an attempt at meritocracy via education. I agree that demand might play a role too (the first link sort of implies this).
It would be interesting to compare tuition cost history in the United States to other countries, which as far as I know do not follow our funding model. (For some reasons this was not easy to quickly Google.)
From the 1940s to 1960s, college costs were rising some, and from 1985 to 2003 costs also increased some. But the rate of increase after 2003 definitely is higher.
Both sources are blaming things other than student loans for rising costs. I will say the second link is intriguing, in that it postulates that state education budget cuts play a responsibility in rising costs. This might go hand in hand with the student loan balloon: basically, the cost of college is shifting heavily to the individual student, but in a very poor manner if the end goal is an attempt at meritocracy via education. I agree that demand might play a role too (the first link sort of implies this).
It would be interesting to compare tuition cost history in the United States to other countries, which as far as I know do not follow our funding model. (For some reasons this was not easy to quickly Google.)
[1] http://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/4565/Myths_and_Realities_abo... [2] https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/years-of-...