By David M. Drucker

Copyright thedispatch

In the United States, K-12 education is mostly run as a government service. By contrast, higher education is supposed to operate more like a marketplace. In theory, that means competition should drive innovation, keep colleges responsive to students’ needs, and ensure tuition prices reflect the real value of a degree. But in practice, however, the market for higher education is hugely distorted. A few powerful forces—federal subsidies, confusing pricing, and rigid accreditation rules—distort how colleges and universities respond to students. The result is an education sector that costs more than it should, delivers uneven quality, and innovates too little.