It would appear that higher education is gradually losing sight of their social bottom line, seeking instead to increase their financial profits. Financial aid advisors at certain colleges and universities are currently being investigated for possibly receiving kickbacks for pushing students into "preferred" lenders, which is a recipe for trouble all on its own.

Next add in the fact that colleges are hiking up their costs. Huliq.com reports that "In 2005, entering Freshmen came from households with a parental median income of $74,000, 60 percent higher than the national average of $46,326. This represents a 14 percent increase from 1971, when students' median family income was $13,200, 46 percent higher than the national average of $9,028."

This isn't to say that the increasing costs are illegitimate, as reported by Mark Huffman in his article at ConsumerAffairs.com, because social sector businesses have a real incentive to spend money in order to provide the best possible services and actually help society. However colleges are increasingly losing government subsidies, and due to the unstable economy, philanthropists and charities are less able to give.Some colleges however, are taking the price hikes by colleges that have legitimate reasons as an excuse to raise their prices without a legitimate reason. Any way you look at it, higher education is in trouble.