There is quite an interesting discussion that has been growing since yesterday in the forum for this USA Today article on rising college tuition — and whether the costs translate into results.

A report by the Delta Cost Project, a Washington-based non-profit, says even as colleges and universities receive more revenue from tuition, that may not mean more is being spent on classroom instruction to prepare students for graduation.

Leaders in higher education typically argue that spending increases are necessary to maintain educational quality, but “what we see across a broad range of indicators is that states and institutions are spending money in areas that may not be in line with the public priority of preparing more graduates,” report author Jane Wellman says. The report is based on Department of Education data across 18 years from nearly 2,000 institutions representing 90% of students. The study examined only operating expenses, which include instructional costs — primarily faculty salaries and benefits. The fastest-growing operating expenses are related to research, public outreach and financial aid, the report says. Other examples are student services, maintenance and academic support.

For the current school year, the price of tuition at community colleges increased an average of 4.2 percent and 6.6 percent at public four-year institutions, according to College Board data.

Interestingly, as the article points out, the United States spends more per student than any other industrialized nation, but is at the bottom in regards to degree completion (54 percent), as reported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in a 2007 study. The organization’s average was 71 percent, with Japan at the top with 91 percent.

Some who have left comments on the article disagree on just how important a college degree is in getting ahead, and how much going to a name-brand institution, like an Ivy League school, counts. Could one spend far less than the $125,000+ it would cost for four years at Harvard and get a fine education and a degree from a community college (and afford the first down payment on a house) instead? Does more money shelled out for college necessarily equal a better education? A bigger circle of connections? A higher-paying job?

A better life?

What I find intimidating is that more and more, it seems that a four-year, oftentimes terribly expensive college degree is not enough. Back in the day, those who finished high school were considered accomplished. Then it became those who completed some kind of secondary education. Now it seems you may need even more than that to succeed in this increasingly globalized world.

Many of my friends are discovering that their college degrees are not enough. But applying for graduate/law/med school while still paying off hundreds in college loans each month can be daunting.

Honestly, where does it stop?