A college degree is not the path to the middle class

Timothy Spangler:

A fully fledged intellectual kerfuffle has broken out in recent days over what declining enrollments in US colleges and universities really mean. The fate of Loyola University New Orleans took center stage as both theNew York Times and the Wall Street Journal attempted to identify the right conclusions to draw from a significant decline in student attendance this fall.
A freshman class of 25% fewer students than expected put Loyola squarely in the news cycle, but Loyola is by no means unique. The only problem is deciding just what this actually means in social, political and economic terms.
Against the backdrop of recent political bickering over the fate of the country’s extensive government-backed student loan program, the “free market” in college offers and acceptances provides an intriguing contrast to the stilted platitudes that often get trotted out when talking about the merits of university education.