Tuition Crisis: The Costs and Financing of Public Higher Education

Abstract

It is no longer a secret that the rapidly rising rates of college and university tuition is putting higher education, even in our “public” tax-supported institutions, beyond the reach of many in the nation’s middle class, that large sector of the population for which these institutions were created. This chapter summarizes the current literature on rising tuition rates—rates greater than the rate of inflation—and identifies the principle “drivers” of rising tuition rates among which are several little known factors that are pushing these rates beyond affordability and reason. Some policy and program efforts to stem the rise and make tuition more affordable have made the situation worse for students and their families while enriching others.