Higher higher ed

Posted by Jorden Meltz

CONSUMER PRICES fell 2.1 percent between July 2008 and July 2009, but college tuition kept going up. Students entering public four-year institutions this fall confront published tuition rates more than 6 percent higher than they were a year ago. Private colleges and universities ticked up 4.4 percent. To be sure, these figures apply to the "sticker price" of college only: grants and loans (many of them subsidized) cover much of the tab. But the contrast between the country's belt-tightening and higher ed's price hikes is striking nonetheless.

The recession itself is a major cause. The downturn forced state governments to slash support for the public systems that more than 70 percent of undergraduates attend; it also shrank the endowments of private institutions. Congress and the Obama administration supplied aid to the states in the stimulus bill, plus $30.8 billion in extra tax credits and Pell grants for students. But this only partially mitigated the impact.

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