And, like private businesses, higher education has to deal with a maze of unfunded government mandates covering personnel, students, labs and lab animals, buildings and the environment. At least one report from the American Council for Education puts the figure of compliance with these regulations as high as 7.5 percent of the cost of instruction. I think it is important to repeat that at public and private schools, tuition and fees do not cover the cost of providing an education. The remainder comes from state subsidies. Despite what some may believe about colleges and universities, we are conscious of the impact of raising tuition.
Accessibility is a primary objective of public institutions.
Maintaining a concern for accessibility has paid off in an ever-higher percentage of high school seniors enrolling in college. In your parents' day, about 30 percent of high school graduates went on to college. In our generation, about 50 percent. Today about 70 percent of high school graduates go on to college. Among G-7 nations, the United States is the leader in college degree completion.