I know some of you may be wondering, what is inflation? Inflation is an uptick in the economy’s prices of goods and services. Currently, we are in an inflationary economy. Inflation can be an indicator of a potential recession, which is concerning. Unfortunately, this issue could reach a point where people can’t afford the necessities, causing a dramatic decrease in demand. When there is a decrease in demand, we could see another cycle of businesses closing. This would be detrimental to the already volatile economy.

The rising costs of everyday items have people overwhelmed and nervous for the future. And due to these increasing costs, college tuition will increase over, at least, the next two years. This is alarming for both students and parents. The main reason tuition has increased over the past few years is because of the coronavirus. The coronavirus has caused businesses to close due to lower consumer spending, and it caused a massive increase in unemployment. Also, the spread of the virus caused college enrollment rates to drop to 6.5%. “If this current rate of decline, this 6 1/2 percent, were to hold up, it would be the largest two-year enrollment decline in at least the last 50 years in the U.S,” Shapiro said.” (Camera) And because of this sharp decline, these colleges lost money; and are trying to make it up now by increasing tuition, which is especially hurting families who are still trying to recover from a long period of job loss. Furthermore, the impact of covid plus inflation has aggravated the increase in tuition even more because universities have to pay their faculty members more. “The University of Virginia has announced that it will raise undergraduate tuition and fees by 4.7 percent next year and another 3.7 percent the year after that, citing the costs of inflation and salary increases for faculty and staff; room and board charges will also each rise by around 4 percent.” (Marcus) Unfortunately, due to the increase in tuition and room board, college attendance may not be possible for every socioeconomic status, which is not fair. Hopefully, these colleges that have increased their price tags will think about who they are affecting.

Works Cited

Camera, Lauren. “College Enrollment on Track for Largest Two-Year Drop on …” US News, 26 Oct. 2021, https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-10-26/college-enrollment-on-track-for-largest-two-year-drop-on-record.

Marcus, Jon. “Tuition, Fees Continues to Rise as Pandemic Inflation Woes Hit Colleges.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 6 Feb. 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/tuition-fees-continues-rise-pandemic-inflation-woes-hit-colleges-rcna14292.