Resources
Delta Cost Project Data
The Delta Cost Project makes data available in a number of different formats. The database that AIR uses to analyze trends and to produce reports and briefs can be accessed from the National Center for Education Statistics at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/deltacostproject/.
In addition, AIR, along with Xcalibur, provides an interactive web-based data system that gives higher education stakeholders easy access to information on finance, performance, and enrollments for individual institutions, groups of institutions, or the nation. This can be accessed at http://www.tcs-online.org/Home.aspx.
In the News
Recent news coverage about postsecondary finance.
Bringing Business Analytics to the College Campus: Using Fiscal Metrics to Steer Innovation in Postsecondary Educations (PDF)
By Jane V. Wellman and Louis Soares
September 2011
Better business analytics, on their own, will not solve our higher
education funding problems, but they would certainly help address some
of the most dysfunctional aspects of higher education finance.
Download the Executive Summary (PDF)
Download the Full Report. (PDF)
Breaking Bad Habits: Navigating the Financial Crisis
By Dennis Jones and Jane Wellman
May / June 2010 issue
Change magazine
Student Service Expenditures Matter
by Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Douglas A. Webber
May / June 2010 issue
Change magazine
How to Fix a Broken System: Funding Public Higher Education and Making It More Productive (PDF)
Public Higher Education Forum
Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
April 2, 2010
Investing in College Completion (PDF)
Education Commission of the States
August 2010
The Progress of Education Reform
Breaking Bad Habits: Navigating the Financial Crisis
By Dennis Jones and Jane Wellman
May / June 2010 issue
Change magazine
Student Service Expenditures Matter
by Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Douglas A. Webber
May / June 2010 issue
Change magazine
How to Fix a Broken System: Funding Public Higher Education and Making It More Productive (PDF)
Public Higher Education Forum
Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
April 2, 201
Princeton: Forum confronts NJ college funding issues
by Ellen Shakespear
April 5, 2010
Centraljersey.com
Can We Afford Our State Colleges?
by Stan Katz
April 3, 2010
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Humanities Really do Produce a Profit
by Robert N. Watson
March 21, 2010
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Haves vs. Have-Nots at Public Universities
By the editors New York Times
November 22, 2009
New York Times
The Long Talk Continues
by Jack Stripling
November 9, 2009
Inside Higher Ed
Institutional Interests, Statewide Concerns
November 9, 2009
By Robert H. Atwell
Inside Higher Ed
Higher Higher Ed: Restructuring as an alternative to endless tuition hikes
Editorial
November 3, 2009
Washington Post
Higher education tuition continues to inflate
by Lyle Moran
November 2, 2009
The Daily Free Press, Boston University
Delta Cost Project Report Calls for Change in Financial Management (PDF)
by Gary Stern
November 2, 2009
Hispanic Outlook
At Public Universities: Less for More
by Paul Fain
November 1, 2009
New York Times (in the Sunday”Education Outlook” section)
College Costs Keep Rising, Report Says
by Tamar Lewin
October 21, 2009
New York Times
Colleges Flunk Economics Test as Harvard Model Destroys Budgets
by Yalman Onaran
May 1, 2009
Bloomberg.com
On a Thursday morning in March, the $32 million School of Management building at Simmons College in Boston is all but deserted. Three students lounge in armchairs facing floor-to-ceiling windows that look over the quad with its winding walkways and greening lawn; another makes photocopies.
Dead Programs Walking
by Jack Stripling
April 30, 2009
Inside Higher Ed
College leaders are often criticized for not making difficult choices, allowing programs that are essentially dead to keep breathing for years with the aid of minimal life support. But with endowment values tumbling and many state budgets slashed, campuses are now making some of those choices – even if they’re still not easy.
Colleges offer no frills degrees
by Stacy Teicher Khadaroo
April 27, 2009
Christian Science Monitor
A less-expensive education is the appeal at stripped-down satellite campuses…
State Colleges also Face Cuts in Ambitions
By Tamar Lewin
March 16, 2009
New York Times
When Michael Crow became president of Arizona State University seven years ago, he promised to make it “The New American University,” with 100,000 students by 2020. It would break down the musty old boundaries between disciplines, encourage advanced research and entrepreneurship to drive the new economy, and draw in students from underserved sectors of the state.
College Affordability: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
By Anthony P. Carnevale
January 12, 2009
Inside Higher Ed
The honorable political pledge to "make college affordable" becomes a wolf in sheep’s clothing during a recession. And the wolf is at the door.
Tuition freeze request should be just a first step on higher ed affordability
February 10, 2009
Detroit Free Press
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is on the right track with her proposal for a tuition freeze at public colleges and universities. In this economy, with growing numbers of displaced workers in need of retraining, it's prudent to protect access and affordability to education.
With college tuition, students foot the bill
By Darina Shtrakhman
February 12, 2009
The Daily Pennsylvanian
As college-tuition fees increase, students are paying a bigger share of their own bill, according to a study of higher-education spending trends.
Delta Project Reports on College Costs
By Chris Rowekamp
February 3, 2009
The Flat Hat (The College of William and Mary)
Study: Funding Not Reaching Classrooms
By Marissa Lang
February 2, 2009
The Diamondback (The University of Maryland)
Students Bear Financial Burden of Education
By Michael Caprio
February 2, 2009
The Heights (Boston College)
Study: Degree Not Worth Tuition Dollars
January 30, 2009
Indiana Daily Student
Compare and Contrast: Is it unfair to ask university students to pay more?
Posted by Thomas Mitchell
January 28, 2009
Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada)
Bailing out Education
By David Lei
January 26, 2009
The Daily Pennsylvanian
Students paying more, arguably getting less
By Katherine Wolfe
January 25, 2009
The Minnesota Daily (University of Minnesota)
Report on Spending Trends Highlights Inequities in Model for Financing Colleges
By Goldie Blumenstyk
January 23, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Colleges, Universities Cut Spending, Raise Tuitions
By James Romoser
January 19, 2009
Winston-Salem Journal
Higher Education Must put Students First in Spending
January 19, 2009
Tuscaloosa News
Spending Wisely: Colleges must do more with less
By Laura Tillman
January 17, 2009
The Brownsville Herald (Texas)
Schools spend less, students pay more
January 16, 2009
UPI
Students Covering Bigger Share of Costs of College
By Kate Zernike
January 16, 2009
New York Times
Community Colleges Get Squeezed
By Brian Burnsed
January 16, 2009
Business Week Online
Students Shouldering Greater Share of college Costs, Study Says
Holly Hacker contributed to this article
January 16, 2009
The Dallas Morning News
More for Less
By Jack Stripling
January 15, 2009
Inside Higher Ed
Families Await Sharpest Tuition Increases in Years
By Justin Pope
January 15, 2009
Associated Press
Colleges cut instruction spending
By Mary Beth Marklein
January 15, 2009
USA Today
Students’ share of state college expenses grows
By Diane D’Amico
January 15, 2009
The Press of Atlantic City
Students pay more, colleges spending same on them
By Melissa Ludwig
January 15, 2009
San Antonio Express-News
Study: College students paying more, getting less
By Matt Krupnick
January 15, 2009
Bay Area News Group
Minority and Low-Income Students suffer the Most as college Wealth Gap Widens
By Lois Elfman
January 15, 2009
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education
The Surprising Causes of Those College Tuition Hikes
By Kim Clark
January 15, 2009
U.S. News & World Report
College: Higher tuition, but less instruction and fewer student services
By Rick Attig
January 15, 2009
The Oregonian
A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste. Thoughts at the Beginning of a New Year (PDF)
From George Mehaffy
February 6, 2009
Memorandum to AASCU Chief Academic Officers
As we confront the worst national financial crisis since the Great Depression, and legislatures all over this country begin to grapple with where and how to make cuts to achieve balanced budgets, my heart goes out to each of you, as you deal with those same issues on your own campus.
Does It Matter that Your Professor is Part Time?
by Kim Clark
November 7, 2008
U.S. News & World Report
As colleges face increasing costs, the traditional tweed-coated, pipe-smoking, comfortable-job-for-life full-time professor appears to be going the way of the dodo bird.
What if colleges cut costs to contain tuition?
By Bill Virgin
November 5, 2008
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
While the nation deals with its economic crisis, individual Americans who are in college, have been or hope to go are confronting their own financial calamities, with the cost of higher education right in the middle of it.
Inflation Outpaces Most Tuition Hikes
by Kim Clark
October 29, 2008
U.S. News & World Report
The average tuition prices paid by most college students fell--after subtracting out inflation--this year, the College Board reported today. Unfortunately, many university officials have warned that the current financial troubles will most likely reignite tuition inflation next year.
Up, Up, and Away!
By John Marcus
October 5, 2008
Boston Globe
Colleges and universities feel your pain when they send out their bills. Honest. They want to help any way they can. Except, of course, if it means lowering their tuition. Why should they?
Is college still worth the price?
By Penelope Wang
August 22, 2008
Money Magazine
Costs are soaring twice as fast as inflation, even as salaries for graduates are falling. Time to examine the old belief that college is worth whatever you can pay.
Why ‘Nonprofit’ Does NOT Mean ‘Lose Money’
By Elizabeth Redden
August 11, 2008
Inside Higher Ed
t was just a tidbit of information, offered toward the end of a presentation slotted in that sleepy, after-lunch-at-a-jampacked-conference hour. But the nature of the tidbit caught the audience’s attention: On average, full-time faculty members at the University of New Mexico’s Gallup campus were being subsidized to the tune of $10,554 apiece.
College Students Bear More of the Cost of their Education
Tennessee’s share falls as tuitions rise
By Colby Sledge
August 9, 2008
The Tennessean
Tennessee's university students are footing more of the bill for their education than ever before as state appropriations stagnate and tuition continues to rise.
Colleges Explore Alternative Revenue Streams
To supplement tuition income, colleges are looking at everything from high-demand graduate courses to real estate deals
By Francesca DiMeglio
August 7, 2008
Business Week
At Lasell College in the Boston suburb of Auburndale, there is a retirement community that essentially constitutes a campus within a campus. But the community of 230 who live there and take courses is more than just an experiment in seniors engaging in lifelong learning. For Lasell, the retirees are a source of alternative revenue that will help protect the college's bottom line from fiscal and demographic trends that are making the college business more challenging.
Higher Education Bill Draws a Bead on Tuition Costs
Legislation aims to point out colleges where costs are rising most, pushing states to pony up
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo
August 1, 2008
The Christian Science Monitor
The rapid rise in college costs has caught the attention of Congress, which is taking steps to at least give the public reason to hope for a break on tuition bills.
Cost Pressures Squeeze Academe
Colleges pay more for products like heating oil, fertilizer, and ice cream
By Paul Fain
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The proof that colleges and universities are virtual cities is in their budgets. Even smaller institutions have a dizzying array of spending needs. As a result, the inflation crunch has hit colleges in many ways.
Less than 10 percent strongly feel students get their money’s worth
SURVEY – Is college worth the cost?
By Dave Newbart
Chicago Sun Times
Fewer than one in 10 Illinois residents feels strongly that college is worth the cost, a new survey has found, leading some educators to worry that more families might begin foregoing college if costs continue to rise.
A survey out Tuesday found strong support from just 7.8 percent of 1,150 people who were asked if "college students today are getting their money's worth."
Massachusetts Should Tax Harvard
By James D. Miller
May 19, 2008
Inside Higher Ed
Some Massachusetts legislators want to tax rich colleges. The idea is part of a broader push to question whether some colleges with hefty endowments are inappropriately hoarding wealth while continuing to raise their tuitions sharply. Nine schools in the state are deemed wealthy enough to be subject to the tax, a proposed 2.5 percent on all assets over $1 billion.
At One University, Tobacco Money Is a Secret
By Alan Finder
May 22, 2008
New York Times
A public university has a contract with a company that bars professors from publishing studies without the company’s consent. The contract is highly unusual and raises questions about how far universities will go in search of scarce research dollars to enhance their standing.
Colleges restrain spending
By Daniel J. Hurley
April 7, 2008
USA Today
It's that time of year when newspaper headlines across the USA announce the latest tuition increases at the local public college or university for this coming fall semester — increases that could well be in the high single digits and, in some cases, double digits.
Despite soaring tuition, colleges shun cost-cutting
By Robert W. Ahrens
April 7, 2008
USA Today
College presidents accurately say they are caught in a bind. If they don't have fancy gyms and near-gourmet food in the cafeterias, choosy students will enroll elsewhere. Plus, cutting back on per-pupil expenditures can hurt a college in some rankings.
College Costs in the Media Bravo for Yale and Harvard, but what about the rest?
By Robert J. Birgeneau
January 2008
USA Today
A short piece that presents the dilemma for public colleges if politicians set tuition caps. The poorest students would suffer as financial aid availability is largely tied to tuition revenues. A recommendation is presented for the development of public-private partnerships that would ensure access for all students without regard to income.
Gold in the Ivory
by HERBERT A. ALLEN
December 21, 2007
New York Times
THE separation of the wealthiest from the rest of the country is alarming.
Growing cost of college imperils our future
By Malaika I. Robinson
December 14, 2007
The Enquirer
The Markdown at Harvard
Rich universities feel pressure to share more of their wealth
By Kim Clark
Posted December 13, 2007
US News
Colleges' Coffers Draw Scrutiny
Critics upset that universities are amassing fortunes as tuition for students continues to increase
By Maureen Groppe
December 10, 2007
Star Washington Bureau
On College Costs, Be Careful What You Wish For
By William G. Durden
December 10, 2007
Inside Higher Ed
The latest blood sport in American public policy appears to be the unmasking of the purported link between containing the cost of higher education and rigorous fiscal accountability. Stringent accountability is forwarded by critics of American higher education not only to know better “precisely what they are getting” (the assumption being that the public isn’t getting much for its investment), but also to contain escalating college costs and the price passed on to students, their families and the American taxpayer.
Feeding the Tuition Monster
By: Jay Ambrose
December 6, 2007
Scripps Howard News Service
While the Republicans have been mum on the issue, the top several Democratic candidates for president have come up with an interesting way to deal with the phenomenon of ever-rising, middle-class-sinking college-tuition costs. They want to feed this monster, which instead of dulling its appetite could make it more ravenous than ever. They will no doubt win votes with their plans, which have the look of smiley-faced gifts to struggling families. But the dollars they hope to shower on the citizenry through various means -- mostly through refundable tax credits -- would likely encourage colleges and universities to charge more money, ultimately leaving the parents and students about where they are now, or maybe worse off.
The Long College-Cost Haul
New survey finds parents on track to cover just 24% of college expenses
By Andrea Coombes
December 5, 2007
MarketWatch
Parents appear to be saving enough to cover the college costs they expect to pay, but they're likely underestimating those expenses -- and their ability to maintain their current savings rate -- according to a new survey from Fidelity Investments.
The Dangerous Wealth of the Ivy League
By: Anthony Bianco with Sonal Rupani
November 29, 2007
Businessweek
Higher education is increasingly a tale of two worlds, with elite schools getting richer and buying up all the talent
Cost-Conscious Colleges
By Steven Pearlstein
November 16, 2007
Washington Post
The next time you hear a college president explain how its not humanly possible to hold down annual tuition increases without affecting quality or reducing student aid, tell him to call "Brit" Kirwan. Over the past three years, the chancellor of the University of Maryland system figured out how to educate 6 percent more students while cutting baseline operating costs by 3 percent and holding average annual tuition increases to less than 2 percent.
Who Should Be Ashamed?
By: Scott Jaschik
November 15, 2007-12-10
Inside Higher Ed
Even as they scramble for positions on some lists ("best colleges,” “top grant recipients” and so forth) colleges have lots of lists they want to stay off of: AAUP censure, NCAA probation, and others.
An Ivory Tower of Pricing
By Steven Pearlstein
November 14, 2007
Washington Post
The College Board is just out with its annual statistics on college finances and, once again, tuition and fees have risen faster than inflation or household incomes.
Looking Under the Hood of Public Higher Ed
By Patrick M. Callan
November 2, 2007
Inside Higher Ed
Last week, the College Board released its annual Trends in College Pricing report, finding that tuition at the nation’s public four-year colleges and universities had risen 6.6 percent, which is roughly equivalent to previous years but continues to far outstrip inflation and increases in family income.
A College-Friendly Take on Rising Prices
By Doug Lederman
November 2, 2007
Inside Higher Ed
You would think that a week after the College Board reported that college and university tuitions had risen at three times the rate of inflation this year, a Congressional hearing on the price of a higher education would result in tons of saber rattling and sky-is-falling rhetoric about how college is getting out of reach of the average American. Yet while a House hearing Thursday featured a few tough words and warnings for college leaders about the risks they and the country face if tuitions continue to escalate, the discussion centered on tactics that might help colleges cut their internal costs or shore up their budgets — notably, a proposal that would seek to ensure that state legislators provide adequate financial support to their public colleges.
Does Going to College Pay? Answer Isn't Simple
By Scott Burns
October 7, 2007
Seattle Times
Does it pay to go to college? If you check www.collegeboard.com, you'll find a reassuring study showing that education really does pay. Without considering the intangibles, the study shows that each additional level of education draws a higher lifetime income