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| UC Berkeley Campanile |
October 26, 2011
Steep funding cuts to higher education in California and elsewhere were significant factors in pushing average tuition and fees up 8.3% at four-year public colleges and universities nationwide this fall, according to a report by the nonprofit College Board.
California's public universities enacted the highest average tuition increase, 21%, of any state, the annual study on college costs found. The state enrolls a tenth of the nation's public four-year college students.
But even excluding California, tuition prices at such colleges rose significantly nationwide this year, an average of 7%, the College Board found. Apart from California, Arizona and Washington had the highest rates of tuition increases at public four-year campuses, 17% and 16% respectively, while Connecticut and South Carolina were lowest, at 2.5% each.
Sandy Baum, a policy analyst for the College Board, said the recession's toll on tax revenues prompted some states to slash higher education funding. "California seems to be the leader of that" trend, she said.
Yet the study also showed that significant increases in federal grants and tax credits are shielding many students from some of the tuition pain even as unemployment is driving more people to enroll at colleges. "As the states have stepped back, the federal government to some extent compensated for the higher prices," Baum said.
Get the full story at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-college-costs-20111026,0,269120.story
