Higher Ed is the biggest racket there is. Private schools can charge whatever they want. When any 18 year old can get access to $500k in debt and k-12 force feeds the idea that a top 50 education is a golden ticket to easy street, no price is too high. The institution gets paid regardless if you ever pay a single dollar of your loan. Uncle Sam and lending institutions are left with the bill. With that model why wouldn't you increase tuition 6% per year and charge $70-$80k per year? The institution bears none of the risk.
The only way this thing gets under control is if Uncle Sam stops backing these loans (not happening in the foreseeable future since even mentioning something logical like this is political suicide) or if parents and students get wise and stop enrolling. When classrooms are half full we might see some attempt to control the cost of higher ed. Until then, new dorms, new gyms, tablets for all freshman, build, build, build while you can while the tap is still on full blast.