Public Sources in 1924-25
Referring to Table 1, we find that the income from property and pro
ductive funds in state institutions amounted to $13,814,405 in 1921-22.
Allowing for the same proportionate increase during the last three years
that has taken place during the years previous to 1921-22, this source will
yield approximately $25,000,000 in 1924-25. Adding to this the current
appropriations which can be estimated on the basis of the figures in Table
1, at approximately $110,000,000 in 1924-25, the total income from public
sources for current consumption can be estimated at $135,000,000 during
this year.
Student Fees for Tuition and Other Educational Services
Student fees for tuition and other educational Services constitute the
third source of income for higher education. This source is- by far the
smallest, having been only $64,296,212 in 1921-22 or 20% of the total
income; of this $64,296,212 from students’ fees, $50,602,128 or 79%
was paid in private institutions and $13,694,084 or 21% in public insti
tutions. Taking into consideration the rate of increase from 1917 to
1922, 20 it should be safe to estimate an income from this source of about
$100,000,000 for the school year 1924-25 as against $200,000,000 from
philanthropy, and $135,000,000 from public funds. The total from
the three sources amounts to $435,000,000 which is inclusive of new
Capital Investments and which represents current expenditures for higher
education or the cost of maintaining it for the year 1924-25. The Student,
therefore, bears less than a fourth of the cost of higher education (taking
an average throughout the United States).
This does not take into consideration that a large proportion of con-
tributions to endowments and current expense funds are received from
former students. The fact remains that the average Student pays less
than a fourth of the cost of his education, for those who have given en
dowments constitute a very small proportion of the entire number who
attend College. This is true of the public sources as well, for they also
fail to take into consideration the distribution of the benefits of higher
learning. A large number of graduates of state institutions bear the
bürden of supporting them in no greater proportion than do those indi-
viduals who never attended. We find in state institutions, as in private
institutions, large numbers of individuals who are the direct recipients
of the benefits of higher education and who are never called upon to re-
imburse the institution which has given them assets at a price far below
cost.
20 See Annual Bulletins of the U. S. Bureau of Education on
Education.”
‘Statistics of Higher