As a graduate of Dartmouth College who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the author launched her academic career with a total debt load of over $105,000. As soon as she started working as a full-time faculty member six years ago, she began to make payments of between $600 and $1,000 a month to creditors, depending on what her…

This article presents an interview with two people who had responsibility for leading the development of the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA)--a joint project of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), supported by the Lumina…

Higher tuition coupled with more financial aid for those in need is more equitable than the low-tuition model where rich and poor pay the same tuition. Higher education, particularly public higher education, should be collaboratively financed by all those who benefit: federal government, the states, business, students, graduates, and families.…

This paper identifies some of the major issues that need to be considered in designing a coherent policy for tuition/fees and student financial aid in California's institutions of higher education. It reviews evidence on the effects of financial aid and tuition and discusses the usefulness of that evidence for policy design. The report identifies…

This paper contains three articles which present the opinions of the authors on public college tuition and state finance. The problem addressed is the large increase in tuition charged by public sector, four-year colleges coupled with the effects of fiscal constraints facing the states. After an introduction by Richard J. Novak, the papers are:…

This study used exploratory modeling, a methodology that combines traditional quantitative forecasting techniques with the insights from scenario-planning, to analyze the conditions under which California can preserve access to its system of public higher education. The study identified two trends currently dominating the issue of future…

Three background papers to a study on the impact of student charges on access to public postsecondary education in California are presented. The California Postsecondary Education Commission conducted the investigation at the request of the California Legislature. The first background paper examines the evolution since 1960 of policies regarding…

Equity within U.S. higher education is examined in three parts: Practices, Principles, and Policies. Public/private problems, attendance variables, and public subsidies to higher education are included in the Practices section. Part 2, Principles, discusses the place of philosophy, meanings of equity, remedying discrimination, and equality of…

In an effort to standardize the definition of the two-year college student transfer rate and to collect national transfer data, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) has solicited data annually since 1989 from a sample of 240 public and private two-year colleges nationwide. The CSCC has standardized the definition of "transfer…

This report examines recent national and Illinois trends in college tuition and fees, instructional costs and state support, indicators of economic conditions and families' ability to pay for colleges, and student financial aid. It also includes general affordability goals for Illinois higher education and recommendations on keeping college costs…

This statement explains the need for private financial support of state colleges and universities, and suggests that such support makes the difference between adequacy and excellence in higher education. Private support makes available scholarships and loans, increases the distinguished faculty through endowed chairs, builds special facilities,…

The dramatic rise in university tuition costs is placing a greater financial burden on millions of college-bound Americans and their families. Yet only a fraction of the additional money colleges are collecting--twenty-one cents on the dollar--goes toward instruction. And, by many measures, colleges are doing a worse job of educating Americans.…

This report describes the effects of the recession in the early 1990s on institutions of higher education in California including large budget cuts, student tuition increases, enrollment reduction of 200,000, growth in student loans, and lack of state policy. This report recommends that a new compact between the state, the colleges and…