(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Jennifer L. Steele, American University (THE CONVERSATION) As an education researcher who has studied the economic returns of higher education, I know that college degrees remain cost-effective investments for most students. But college tuition has risen at roughly twice the rate of inflation during the past two decades, and federal student debt climbed 500%to US$1.6 trillion during that same period.