Resources
Delta Project Data
The Delta Project has organized data on operating spending and revenues into aggregate measures of costs per student and costs per degree/certificate produced, organized into Carnegie classifications separating public and private nonprofit institutions.
In the News
Recent news coverage about postsecondary finance.
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