Congress Should Address Rising College Prices, Witnesses Tell House Education Committee
Committee will tackle rising tuition in reauthorization of Higher Education Act

Thursday, November 1, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congress should work with colleges, states and other stakeholders to address rising college prices, expert witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee during a hearing today.

The hearing, which examined factors contributing to tuition increases as well as possible solutions to help make college more affordable, comes after a report on rising college prices released last week. According to the report, tuition and fees at four-year public colleges have increased by 31 percent in the last five years, after adjustment for inflation. The report, released by the College Board, also found that tuition prices were up at public and private colleges and at two-year and four-year colleges.

U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), the committee’s chairman, and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the committee’s senior Republican, said that the committee would tackle the issue of college pricing in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which the committee intends to take up this month.

“Whether a student attends a public college in-state or out-of-state, a private college, or a two-year college, the bad news is that prices are up across the board,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee. “We have taken great strides to make college more affordable by providing urgently needed financial relief to families who are desperately trying to meet these costs. But we also know that student aid is just part of this equation – the other side is cost. We must work with colleges to help rein in these skyrocketing costs and to provide consumers with better information about college pricing.”

“After decades of exploding college costs, America has reached a crisis point.  Millions of Americans are straining to afford a higher education, or forgoing the opportunity altogether,” said Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the panel’s senior Republican.  “A consensus has emerged, here in Congress and around the country, about the need to make and keep college affordable.  As a fundamental first step, we can begin by empowering consumers – students, parents, and taxpayers – with more and better information about how much higher education costs, why costs are rising, and what can be done about it.”

At today’s hearing, witnesses explained some of the factors likely contributing to tuition increases. F. King Alexander, the President of California State University at Long Beach, testified that for public colleges “the most influential reason for increases…in costs is the drastic fluctuations of state appropriations. A ‘maintenance of effort’ federal/state partnership would make it more difficult for states to further reduce their fiscal responsibility to public colleges and universities by shifting the costs of higher education to students, and ultimately, federal tuition-based programs.” Witnesses also testified about the non-educational expenses incurred by colleges that are a factor in pricing, such as housing, food, and health services for students.

To address price increases, witnesses recommended increasing transparency and making a wide range of data available to families, including student debt information, tuition and fee increases, and information about how colleges and universities spend money.  

“Our nation spends almost twice as much per student in postsecondary education as other countries, yet we are behind in graduation rates, and falling further behind as other countries are increasing educational attainment and success,” testified Jane V. Wellman, the Executive Director of the Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs, Productivity and Accountability. “The federal government clearly has an interest in increasing productivity in higher education – both to maintain the value of federal financial aid funds going to needy students and to tackle the challenges of increasing educational attainment for all students.”

“Parents are increasingly anxious about how much they will pay for their children’s education. We do hope that if they see how much aid is available, and understand the range of pricing structures even just within the private college sector, some of that anxiety will be lessened,” said Dr. John E. Bassett, the President of Clark University, a private college, who represented the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Bassett has helped develop a new website for students and families with information on college pricing, costs, and financial aid.

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