I went to a much better school than my older sister. It also cost roughly 4x as much. When I graduated college, my income was just shy of 3x compared to that of my sister. I paid off my student loans before I turned 30, she is still paying hers at 35. Was it the quality of our schooling that impacted our return on investment? No. It was our choice in profession. She went into teaching, I went into finance.

The college I attended churned out graduates headed to both careers, both costing the same. Had my sister gone to the quality of school that I attended, she would never have been able to pay her loans. She probably would be more qualified to teach the next generation, but an education major at Ivy League College would still be a "dubious program".

I realize that isn't what you're intending to say. However, college pricing is generally (thought to be) correlated with quality of education, not with return on investment of that education. The result of targeting the "dubious program" ends up simply devaluing low-pay jobs.

How is there not enough competition to provide a good education at a lower price?

It shouldn't be this hard to find a good, affordable education.

No -- it's her fault too. Lots of people think more practically when getting a degree. Not that I was one.