Mark Bauerline asks that question in his Wall Street Journal post.
Higher education may be heading for a reckoning.
…
Recently, though, a new public skepticism has surfaced, with galling facts to back it up. Over the past 30 years, the average cost of college tuition and fees has risen 250% for private schools and nearly 300% for public schools (in constant dollars). The salaries of professors have also risen much faster than those of other occupations.
He goes on.
He discusses the question in terms raised by a book, Higher Education?. The book is subtitled “How Colleges are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids–And What We Can Do About It.”
It’s an interesting read.