State colleges look at tuition freeze to recoup funding
University systems in Arizona, California, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota and New Hampshire have proposed to hold the line on tuition for state residents in exchange for a steady or increased stream of tax dollars. State legislatures will meet in January to consider the plans. The strategy follows years of increases. Tuition and fees jumped 15% between 2008 and 2010, led by increases of more than 40% at universities that include those in Arizona and California, according to a 2012 U.S. Department of Education report. In California, where tuition was frozen this fall, voters approved a temporary sales and income tax increase, avoiding a possible 20% midyear tuition hike. Sandy Baum, author of the College Board’s annual report on tuition trends, argues a moderate, predictable rate of growth in tuition over the long term helps students more than a short-term freeze. Schools may have to start freezing tuition, regardless of state funding, because middle-class families are increasingly vocal about college costs, adds Richard Vedder, an Ohio University economics professor who has studied the issue.
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by Jens Krogstad, USA Today.