I admit that I have not read much of the thread beyond Deans post/question. One of the reasons that tuition has increased considerably (at least from what I have heard from those I work with) is that the government has cut a considerable amount of funding which goes to education. Traditionally, public universities get federal funding and then get "revenue" from tuition. As the amount of federal funding goes away to pay for (fill in the blank with whatever ideological slant you want...welfare for the rich, welfare for the poor, etc.), universities raise tuition to provide operating revenue. Granted, probably too much money goes to administration and other projects which don't necessarily benefit students.
It is only my opinion that not every person should attend university. Unfortunately as much as we think that degrees are irrelevant, they are still a requirement to gain entry into certain professions and fields. We also must keep in mind that wages have far under paced the increase in price of many goods and services. Had wages kept pace with inflation since the 60s, we wouldn't be seeing the drastic increase in student debt levels (although since tuition has increased to make up for the loss in federal dollars, we would still see higher debt levels than in prior time periods).
