Soaring costs as sacred cows

Answer #3 to the question: Why are college costs soaring?

Anyone outside of academia expects college costs to be well managed. We expect leaders to take initiatives to avoid cost increases and find less expensive ways to achieve the same level of quality. We assume the insiders will have numerous conversations to explore alternatives and formulate the best strategies to preserve the affordability of college. It never occurs to us outsiders that the cost of college could become a sacred cow among insiders that cannot be openly discussed.

When any topic become a sacred cow, there's an unwritten agreement not to mention it. It goes without saying that there's nothing to be said about it that would regarded as acceptable, respectful and appropriate. It's a sore point or touchy subject that no one wants to bring into the conversation. Discussions about any sacred cow push people's hot buttons which results in the people uncontrollably blushing, stammering, losing concentration and panicking. If they cannot immediately leave the room, they go silent with a "deer in headlights" look in their eyes. Everyone on the inside learns not to go there, not to make others feel that way and not to stir up those insecurities.

Soaring costs of college can become sacred cows in several different systems of beliefs :

• College administrators may believe they could keep costs in line if they we're better managers, more competent in their jobs and better equipped to handle their responsibilities; but they know they're not. They do not want to discuss how incompetent they are.
• College faculty may believe they could find ways to reduce expenditures if they were more trusted and relied upon to look after the interests of the institution; but they're afraid they're not. They do not want to discuss how mistrusted they are.
• Campus grounds crews and facility managers could save money lots of different ways if they were more respected and felt more included in the campus community; but they see lots of evidence they're not. They don't want to discuss how they're looked down upon or treated as second class citizens.
• College Governing Boards may believe the costs could be reduced if the quality of the educations provided was more certain, substantiated and protected from deterioration; but they dread it's not. They do not want to discuss how useless college degrees are from their school.

Any combination of these different belief systems could generate a "private religion" with strict taboos. No one could raise the topic of soaring costs without getting shunned, confronted or ridiculed. Those that violate the taboo may even get put out of the loop of inside information or shown the door.