I can tell you exactly why the cost of higher education is so expensive, and they can all be traced to government policy. First, government has aggressively cut funding for higher education, especially in the 2000s. As a result, a study found that over 40% of the increase in college costs since 2008 is as a result of funding cuts. Second, as that liberal rag U.S. News and World Report opined, making loans so readily available to students, and making them not subject to Bankruptcy discharge, results in aggressive lending practices by the banks and students who are unable to calculate the long-term cost of these loans. Finally, the increase in administrative costs relative to teaching and research costs has a part in it. In addition, there are various local and state issues that also contribute to this problem, but it is certainly one that can be addressed in large part by government policy.