In the same time period, stay public university systems had their state funding also decimated. Federally sourced loans were favored over expanding grant programs.
The thought that public universities should “run like private businesses” is a disease of neoliberalism. They largely succeeded in running like businesses, but it’s all the wrong metrics. public goods should not be profit centers for state or federal government budgets.
Take away state funding, make it a business objective to capture students, add a abstraction of student loans and direct federal funding, and of course tuition increases.
The thought that public universities should “run like private businesses” is a disease of neoliberalism. They largely succeeded in running like businesses, but it’s all the wrong metrics. public goods should not be profit centers for state or federal government budgets.