[jplewicke]

Another possible reason for tuition increases is Baumol's Cost Disease ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumols_cost_disease ), in which the relative cost of providing a service grows rapidly because it hasn't had productivity improvements. When the amount of time needed to teach someone how to compose an essay hasn't changed since before 1960, it's not surprising that it's gotten more expensive compared to the price of microwave ovens.

Since most of our economic activities experience greater productivity growth than we've seen in education, it's not surprising that educational expenditures are growing faster than inflation. I'm hopeful that this will change as web-based education goes mainstream.