"The rising cost of college - even before the recession - threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the annual report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education," The New York Times reports. "Over all, the report found, published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, adjusted for inflation, while median family income rose 147 percent. The report, 'Measuring Up 2008,' is one of the few to compare net college costs - that is, a year's tuition, fees, room and board, minus financial aid - against median family income. Those findings are stark."

You can read the complete December 3, 2008 New York Times article on-line.

Additional Media Coverage

(Not Really) Measuring Up (Inside Higher Ed)

The U.S. Is Falling Behind on Education and Lacks Key Data, Report Card Finds (The Chronicle of Higher Education)