Resources / Reports / The Tuition Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together

The Tuition Puzzle: Putting the Pieces Together

Published Feb 1999
ihep
focus area Need-Based Aid

Report recommending multi-pronged efforts by both states and institutions to alter their goals, structures, and financial plans because of the rising college prices

The major government responses to rising tuitions—increasing loan options and tax credits—are not designed to actually reduce the price of college. The major institutional responses—cutting or reducing costs in key areas, and improving public information—also have not produced evidence of reduced tuitions. This report ties together data and information from numerous sources in order to identify the pieces of the tuition puzzle in higher education. The goal of the report is to provide new insights into the causes and consequences of rising college prices, and to question whether rising prices are inevitable, or if something can be done about them. The report recommends multi-pronged efforts by both states and institutions to alter their goals, structures, and financial plans.