Lawmakers and members of the higher education community--including NASFAA President Dallas Martin--have been quick to respond to the findings of two annual surveys released October 21 by the College Board. This year, for the first time, The College Board has included information about state budget cuts and their relationship to tuition prices in the annual Trends in College Pricing and Trends in Student Aid reports.
The reports were unveiled just as Members of Congress and representatives of the nation's colleges and universities are beginning the process of reauthorizing the sweeping law governing most higher education programs.
In the past several months, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have questioned institutions regarding why college costs continue to increase at staggering rates. Members of the House and Senate GOP leadership have repeatedly indicated that institutions themselves need to control spending and curb the hyperinflation of tuition and fees. Colleges and universities, for their part, have placed the blame primarily on the dramatic decrease in funding most states are now offering to their higher education institutions.
The following are comments responding to the two College Board reports:
Dallas Martin, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA):
"Unfortunately, college costs continue to rise. However, the recent data released by the College Board reflects a trend that has been occurring since 1986--that states which have moved away from low-tuition policies at their public institutions are continuing to place more of their responsibility upon corrections, Medicaid, and elementary and secondary education than upon higher education.
"The data in the report show that states who move from a low-tuition policy to a moderate-tuition policy have neglected to provide the amount of need-based financial aid that would benefit the most needy citizens within their states.
"The 'Trends' data show that most states over the last decade have increased their no-need student aid programs at a far greater percentage than they have increased need-based student aid. This means that low- and moderate-income students are being confronted with a greater price in their college education than students from higher income levels.
"Higher education has always been a partnership, reflecting what students and parents can contribute, what institutions can contribute, what states can contribute, and what the federal government can contribute. Unfortunately, the College Board report shows that the weakest partner in this equation currently is state government."
John Boehner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee:
"It's concerning that the College Board expanded its report to look at how states are spending taxpayers' money, but not how colleges and universities themselves are spending taxpayers' money.
"As Moody's Investors Service recently told The New York Times, extravagant spending by institutions for everything from super-size Jacuzzis and sunbathing decks to massage facilities and rock-climbing walls is contributing significantly to the soaring cost of college. The higher education establishment doesn't want to talk about this, but parents and taxpayers do.
"The College Board's decision to expand its report selectively in this fashion is something I think a number of legislators here and around the country are going to find troubling.
"Hyperinflation in college costs has been pummeling parents and students for more than a decade, and the problem has not been a lack of spending by states or the federal government. Even when states were increasing their investment in higher education in recent years, college tuition was skyrocketing. The bigger issue is whether institutions are accountable enough to parents, students and taxpayers--and clearly they are not. We need more transparency in college financing so parents and students will have the information they need to fully exercise their power in the higher education marketplace."
George Miller (D-Calif.), ranking Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee:
"Today, the College Board released its annual survey of tuition and student aid on college campuses nationwide. In 2003-2004, tuition and fees increased at colleges and universities across the country. Tuition increased by 14.1 percent at four-year public institutions, 13.8 percent at two-year public institutions, and 6.0 percent at four-year private institutions.
"Republican tax and budget cuts have hurt students by forcing states to raise tuition. We need to stop skyrocketing tuition increases. But we reject the wrong-headed Republican response of cutting off work-study and other student aid and penalizing institutions that predominantly serve low-income and minority students.
"The report also details that while 70 percent of all students pay $8,000 or less in tuition each year, low-income students continue to fall far behind in accessing a college education. The ratio of a low-income family’s earnings used to pay for tuition increased to 71 percent, while this ratio held steady for middle-income families at 17 percent and 6 percent for those with the highest incomes.
"Just as the gap between what low-income, or working class families, and what high-income families can pay for college widens even more, President Bush and the Republicans have prioritized budget cuts and tax breaks for millionaires."
C. Peter Magrath, president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC):
"The fact that the average public university student receives $2,400 in grant aid is due to the increased resources that our institutions have committed to student financial aid, as well as to the large amounts of aid provided by the federal and state governments and outside donors. Many of our institutions are devoting more of their resources to the financial-aid packages of low-income students.
"The average public four-year tuition of less than $4,700 will continue to allow the broad access to higher education that our students and society need. The $105 billion in financial aid provided from all sources is a wise investment in our future that must be maintained and strengthened. This includes the federal Pell Grant program, which now covers, on average, less than 30% of the average total charges at public colleges. State colleges and universities educate the majority of the students enrolled in four-year institutions."
David Ward, president of the American Council on Education (ACE):
"There is no denying the bad news released by the College Board today--college prices, particularly at public institutions, have increased sharply over the past year. These increases are due to a complex array of factors, which combine dramatic cuts in state appropriations, level-funding in most federal student aid programs, a recent marked decline in endowment earnings, and a corresponding challenge in obtaining alumni and corporate gifts.
"But percentage increases in tuition do not tell the entire story on affordability, and there is some good news contained in the report--for example, the net price after grant aid at four-year public universities was $1,700 last year. In addition, total student aid was about $105 billion--a record amount.
"However, we are in the middle of a very difficult period in financing higher education, and I remain greatly concerned about the long-term viability of the social compact that has served students and families so well for more than 50 years. Until we publicly debate the cost-shifting that is occurring in many states, no amount of effort by our institutions to raise revenue and cut expenses will be able to preserve low-tuition formulas, particularly at our public colleges and universities."
David L. Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU):
"Private college and university presidents understand the apprehension that annual increases in tuition sticker price create in students and families. Our colleges have responded by increasing institutionally provided aid by more than twice as much as tuition in the past year (15% vs. 6%)--as well as over the last decade (197% vs. 86%). For the vast majority of students at private colleges and universities, annual increases in their out-of-pocket costs trail tuition increases because of faster growth in institutionally provided aid.
"This year, despite several years of poor endowment and fund-raising returns, sharp increases in family financial need, and costs that have long increased faster than the Consumer Price Index, private colleges kept the average increase for 2003-2004 at 6%. This is only half a point higher than the 5.5% average for the last 10 years, and significantly lower than the double-digit increases that were common during the last economic downturn.
"The first priority of private colleges and universities is continuing to bolster oversight of costs and enhance operating efficiency, while maintaining educational quality and access for students from all backgrounds. In recent years, entrepreneurial presidents have targeted reductions in costs, increased outsourcing, and expanded collaborative efforts with other institutions to achieve savings and make wiser use of college resources. The competitive higher education market, and the importance families place on the value of their college investment ensure that college presidents will stay committed to a quality education that is accessible to students from all backgrounds, at the lowest possible net price."
Posted October 22, 2003 on
www.NASFAA.org, the Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
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