It would be silly to expect the free market to fix higher ed’s problems, because there is currently no free market in higher education, argued Jeff Selingo of The Chronicle of Higher Education:
The problem is, the current financing mechanism for college is far from a free market. Government subsidies account for close to 90 percent of revenues at some colleges when you add up grants, loans, and research funds. Also, nonprofit colleges are exempt from paying many taxes, and they receive tax-exempt gifts from donors.
“In the absence of a government subsidy, most colleges could not fill up their seats,” argues Ronald G. Ehrenberg, a higher-education economist and professor at Cornell University. “It’s silly to think that this is a free market.”
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