Eye on Washington: A Modest Proposal to Better Inform
the Public About the Price of College
By Terry Hartle
Abundant public opinion research tells us that most Americans
know little about the financing of higher education. We know, for
example, that most adults significantly overestimate tuition and fees
and underestimate the amount of student aid available. Many Americans
say they do not know where to find information about paying for college.
A vast majority of the public thinks that even nonprofit and public
colleges and universities make a profit.
And it's a safe bet that most of our fellow citizens do not
have a clue that the actual price they pay for higher education (tuition
and fees) is a lot lower than the actual cost of providing the
education. This is one of the most basic considerations in higher
education finance for both private and public colleges and universities:
Tuition is always lower than the cost of providing the education. . .
.
Excerpted from the fall 2006 issue of The
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