Rapid increases in what colleges charge and what they spend per student have been and remain one of the most controversial aspects of American higher education. Tuition, fees, and other college charges have increased in both the public and private sectors at more than twice the rate of inflation for over a quarter century. Trends over time in what…

This report identifies a number of financing issues facing American higher education in the early 1990s, including: (1) the future federal role in postsecondary education in light of lagging participation rates of low-income and minority students and public concerns about many aspects of campus-based research; (2) the extent of state financial…

In 1992 the Clinton Administration proposed phasing out the federally guaranteed student loan program and replacing it with a direct lending program run entirely by the federal government, claiming that this approach would save taxpayer money and simplify a complex program. Opponents of the Administration plan argued instead for changes in federal…