Best Larry Bernstein Podcasts (2025)

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15. How to Reduce the High Cost of College 23:00

1y ago23:00

23:00

Send us a text The underlying cause of the high cost of college is an inability to objectively demonstrate quality or the value added by a college. Currently, college rankings are determined by the amount of money they have and spend. Those with more prestige are able to charge higher tuition. Higher education institutions need to be incentivized t…

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14. Why Does College Cost So Much? Putting It All Together 19:22

1y ago19:22

19:22

Send us a text The high cost of college prevents many from attending or causes others to go into debt at an early age and delay life plans. Why does college cost so much? Because there is no objective measure of quality, prestige is determined by how much money a college has and spends. Individual pricing by private colleges allows them to charge e…

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13. If Purdue Can Do It, Why Can't U? 9:43

1y ago9:43

9:43

Send us a text Purdue University has frozen tuition for the last 13 years while improving its reputation. This has saved students $6,000 per year, reduced the amount of debt, and improved graduation rates. How did it do it and why don’t other universities do the same? Theme music: Sunshine by lemonmusicstudio via Pixabay…

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12. The Interests of Colleges and Students Do Not Align 14:19

1y ago14:19

14:19

Send us a text The priorities of boards of trustees, administrators , and faculty are often different from those of the students. Those students are paying into a system which directs funds into activities that do not align with their interests. They do not have the ability to opt out of services they do not wish to receive and those looking to ent…

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11. Why Not Use the Endowment To Pay For Everything? 21:13

1y ago21:13

21:13

Send us a text Wealth inequality among universities enables the rich to get richer. The design of college endowments limits the extent to which they can be used to reduce tuition for everyone. Theme music credit: Sunshine by lemonmusicstudio via PixabayBy Larry Bernstein

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10. Do Campus Luxuries and Amenities Make College a Lot More Expensive? 18:01

1y ago18:01

18:01

Send us a text Climbing walls and lazy river pools are conspicuous and attract much attention but add relatively little to the cost of attendance. On the other hand, colleges have been raising the prices they charge for housing at a rate much higher than inflation. The building boom on campuses has expanded space greater than the increase in studen…

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9. The Rise of the Administrative State on Campus 27:45

1y ago27:45

27:45

Send us a text Federal regulations and reporting requirements of colleges have grown in recent years forcing them to hire non-instructional staff to comply. But this only accounts for a small part of the amount spent on administration. Colleges have expanded their scope beyond the core missions of education and research. They are now more involved …

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8. How Much Are College Students Paying For Research? 33:04

1y ago33:04

33:04

Send us a text Institutional support of sponsored research has grown at twice the rate of inflation for over 60 years and is an overlooked cause of high tuition. The annual expense of unsponsored research is many thousands of dollars per student and may be an even larger contributor to rising costs. This National Science Foundation website https://…

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7. Do Professors' Salaries and Baumol (Service) Cost Disease Explain Why College Costs So Much? 16:12

1y ago16:12

16:12

Send us a text Service fields such as higher education do not experience large improvements in efficiency so the cost of providing that service rises. The salaries of professors may contribute a minor amount to the rising cost of college; however, reduced teaching loads and other perks are more important factors which cause the price of tuition to …

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6. How Much Do Intercollegiate Athletics Cost Students? 23:51

1y ago23:51

23:51

Send us a text All intercollegiate athletic programs lose money, except for a few at universities with successful football programs Students are charged up to several thousand dollars per year to make up the deficit. Compliance with Title IX also adds to the cost. Websites mentioned in this episode: Office of Postsecondary Education website under E…

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5. What Role Do Rankings Play in the High Cost of College? 24:07

1+ y ago24:07

24:07

Send us a text Influential rankings are based on the wealth of an institution, not how much students learn. This incentivizes colleges to maximize income in order to remain competitive. Theme music credit: Sunshine by lemonstudiomusic via PixabayBy Larry Bernstein

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4. Do Loans, Grants, and Tax Breaks Really Make College More Affordable? 23:26

1+ y ago23:26

23:26

Send us a text Government grants, easy access to subsidized loans, and tax breaks have made more money available to students, but somehow, students are even more overwhelmed with the burden of paying for college. Theme music credit: Sunshine by lemonmusicstudio via PixabayBy Larry Bernstein

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1. The Problem of High College Tuition 16:49

1+ y ago16:49

16:49

Send us a text Once upon a time, Americans had access to affordable higher education and could pay for it by working while in college. This promoted social mobility. Over the last few decades, costs have risen dramatically causing current students to drown in student debt, alter life decisions, or forgo college altogether. In this episode, we intro…

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2. Individual Pricing of College Tuition Leads to Higher Charges 35:13

1+ y ago35:13

35:13

Send us a text In this episode, we discuss: Individual pricing, the most important factor contributing to the rise of tuition sticker price at private colleges and universities. The effect of economic surplus, market segmentation, and enrollment management in setting a price to extract the maximum amount of current and future wealth from a student …

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3. Shifting Public Support of Colleges and Universities 23:40

1+ y ago23:40

23:40

Send us a text In this episode, we examine public colleges and universities and discuss: The high variability in higher education funding between states. How state appropriations dropped during the decade of the 2000s causing public colleges to make up for the shortfall by raising tuition. How the decrease in state appropriations explains only a pa…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Larry Bernstein Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

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Charging U

Larry Bernstein

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15. How to Reduce the High Cost of College 23:00

1
14. Why Does College Cost So Much? Putting It All Together 19:22

1
13. If Purdue Can Do It, Why Can't U? 9:43

1
12. The Interests of Colleges and Students Do Not Align 14:19

1
11. Why Not Use the Endowment To Pay For Everything? 21:13

1
10. Do Campus Luxuries and Amenities Make College a Lot More Expensive? 18:01

1
9. The Rise of the Administrative State on Campus 27:45

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8. How Much Are College Students Paying For Research? 33:04

1
7. Do Professors' Salaries and Baumol (Service) Cost Disease Explain Why College Costs So Much? 16:12

1
6. How Much Do Intercollegiate Athletics Cost Students? 23:51

1
5. What Role Do Rankings Play in the High Cost of College? 24:07

1
4. Do Loans, Grants, and Tax Breaks Really Make College More Affordable? 23:26

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1. The Problem of High College Tuition 16:49

1
2. Individual Pricing of College Tuition Leads to Higher Charges 35:13

1
3. Shifting Public Support of Colleges and Universities 23:40