Dive Summary:
- Writing for Bloomberg, Christopher Flavelle says state governments are to blame for rising tuition that has seen the price of a bachelor's degree at a public school rise 46% from 2000 to 2010.
- He says with the recession putting pressure on state budgets, spending on higher education has been slipping for 15 years.
- That goes hand in hand with another fact: Public colleges' share of revenue coming from tuition rose to 47% last year, up 18 points from 2000.
From the article:
... So the declining spending on higher education probably reflects a lack of good options for budget writers, and their perception that universities, unlike other recipients of state spending, can always raise more money through tuition. But solving the surge in tuition starts with understanding what's causing it. ...