re: I don’t get why it is more costly for colleges to educate students now vs the 70s/80s

Increasing cost of salaries
Increasing cost of technology
Increasing cost of keeping up with comparable universities (buildings and construction)

But you know the worst part? Bloat.
University bureaucracy is far more extensive than it used to be and they just keep expanding. It’s a mirror image of what you see with the US govt at large.

And the real kicker…these are some of the most meaningless jobs that exist in the world today. As well as some of the last people with whom you’d ever want to communicate.