Tuition has emerged as one of the most difficult issues facing higher education. Students, their families, and lawmakers blast colleges as greedy and unable to control costs. Colleges decry criticism, from politicians and the press, that they say distorts the issues. At the same time, many college leaders acknowledge that tuition increases have become a serious problem. Duke University, an expensive, private, research institution, explains how it sets tuition, and an outside analyst assesses its logic.
Many private colleges say their tuition rates are as low as possible.
But a look at two pairs of institutions suggests that private colleges may have more control over their rates than educators acknowledge. At public institutions, where most students are enrolled, the tuition debate centers on different issues. Some politicians charge that federal grant and loan dollars have played a key role in allowing tuition rates to go up, but experts on student aid are divided on the theory.