USA TODAY: Tuition and fees at America’s public colleges rose more than 8% this year as a weakened economy and severe cuts in state funding took their toll, a report out today says.
Public four-year universities charged residents an average of $8,244, up 8.3% from last year, while public two-year schools charged an average of $2,963, up 8.7%, says the report by the non-profit College Board. About 80% of the nation’s undergraduates attend public institutions.
That increase is more than double the inflation rate of 3.6% between July 2010 and July 2011. Family earnings dropped across all income levels. And state funding per student declined by 4% in 2010, the latest year available, and 23% over the past decade, the report says… (more)
EDITOR: There is no reason for students to spend four years in college class rooms when much of their studies could be conducted from home via the Internet with periodic visits to campuses in the second through fourth years. This applies equally to Millersville University and Harvard. We could almost double and perhaps triple the number of students without significantly increasing costs. We are not living in Nineteenth Century any longer.
