Study Shows U.S. Schools Flunking Affordability Test
by Jim Brown
September 17, 2004
(AgapePress) - A new study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education finds that in many states it has become much more difficult in recent years for students to afford higher education. Apparently, for many cost-conscious students and parents, many U.S. colleges are failing to make the grade in the key area of affordability.In fact, according to Vanderbilt University Professor Will Doyle, the National Center's biennial report gives most American colleges an "F" in affordability. And Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin, barely pass with a "D."
The National Center's 2004 "report card" contradicts some other recent studies, which claim increases in financial aid have kept pace with recent tuition hikes, thus stabilizing real college costs. The NCPPHE study grades affordability by comparing net college costs with average family income to determine whether students and families can afford to pay for higher education, given income levels, financial aid, and the types of universities and colleges in each state.
By that measure, Doyle says, college is becoming increasingly less affordable all over the nation. For example, he notes the study showed how commitment to affordability "has really gone down" in certain states. "In New Hampshire a decade ago," he says, "it cost 23 percent of family income to attend a public four-year institution. Today it costs 32 percent. So it's really taking a bigger and bigger bite out of people's family income."
But on the plus side, the professor says, the study reveals progress in some areas, including student preparation. "One of our findings is certainly that students are more prepared than ever before to go on to higher education," he explains. "They are taking the courses that they need to go to college, and they are performing better on college entrance examinations and on other indicators of student ability."
Still, Doyle says, the findings suggest that some states might consider doing more to keep college affordable. Even though students are better prepared than ever for college, he says, "they're not necessarily enrolling at the rates you'd expect, and affordability has to be part of the problem."
The National Center's 2004 study found the most affordable schools in America were in California, although that has been less the case in the past two years. Among all the individual states, only Utah and Minnesota joined the Golden State in earning grades higher than a "D" in affordability. And while some states have improved in a few affordability indicators in the last decade, only two have improved in more than half of these areas, and a significant number (17 states) have declined in every aspect of the affordability category.
