State budget cuts have resulted in higher tuition and fees for students at a time when family income has remained relatively flat. In-state tuition and fees at public four-year institutions nationwide rose 7.9 percent in 2010-11, according to the College Board — far above the inflation rate of 1.1 percent — to $7,605.
Community colleges increased their tuition 6 percent to $2,713, while at private, nonprofit four-year colleges and universities tuition went up by 4.5 percent, to $27,293.
States also have cut spending on the financial aid that many students need to pay these rising costs and stay in school. And, like that career-training money, federal Pell Grants have become a target of budget-cutters in Congress. The House of Representatives already has voted to reduce the maximum award available from the principal federal financial aid program by 45 percent, to $3,040 a year.
One consequence of less financial aid is that nearly two-thirds of community college students now work at least 20 hours a week to pay for school, the New York City-based nonpartisan think tank Demos found — a factor linked to increased chances of dropping out.
“It’s ironic that as soon as students take us up on the offer of aspiring to higher education, we tell them, ‘Sorry, we’ve run out of money,’ ” says Jose Cruz, vice president of higher education practice and policy at Education Trust, a Washington education advocacy organization.
Key congressional Republicans, however, deride the president for putting so much attention on graduating more students at a time of relatively high unemployment.
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