by Leigh Goessl

Created on: August 11, 2009

Individuals who want to pursue a college education quickly find out this dream is pretty expensive. It is a worthwhile dream because there are many competitive advantages in the job market for those who possess degrees, but the pursuit of higher education does not come cheap.

Not only are college costs high, but the price tag continues to increase every year. The expenses attached to a college education are rising so fast it seems the rate of inflation can't even keep up with the upward slope.

Why is it obtaining a degree has become so expensive?

The reason is that colleges, like every other business, have to compete in an open market. There are many fixed and variable costs that colleges have to cope with as well. If you factor in the competition facet into this equation, you can pretty much get to the root of the issues associated with rising costs of a college education.

Colleges have to contend with advertising and recruiting costs, academic costs, overhead costs, decreases in funding, technology needs, and competition and maintenance, and these factors all configure in why colleges continuously raise their rates each year.

*Advertising and Recruiting Costs

Today's universities are in heavy competition, especially with the introduction of online degree programs which have broadened the market and increased the number of competitors. Like most other niche areas of business, colleges have to work hard to maintain the visibility to stand out from other universities.

This means the overhead entailed in maintaining strong marketing campaigns to attract new students cost money, and the resources invested in this recruitment are significant. These expenditures are going to be passed on in the form of higher tuitions and fees.

For instance, in years past if you requested information from a college you'd receive a packet in the mail in the following days or even weeks. Today's college recruiters are likely to give you a call immediately when your request is received. This requires a lot more manpower than traditional methods of sending out admission information.

The widespread integration of the Internet has transformed the ways colleges recruit and market their campuses. The costs associated with maintaining a strong web presence and other Internet methods to advertise are also costly and very different from previous advertising and marketing overhead costs.

*Academic Costs

The academic costs connected with higher education are increasing and colleges

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