Though Congress will not complete (nor the Senate even commence) reauthorization of the Higher Education Act until next year, the debate is in full swing. This week's New York Times education supplement had a gaggle of articles dealing with the price of college, need- and merit-based financial aid, and tuition discounting (offering the most qualified or appealing students lower tuition). The implicit message: tuition is high (though not as high as most people think) and is rising at twice the rate of inflation in many schools (in part, some argue, because of federal student aid programs); elite private universities get more than their fair share of government aid for students despite having far larger endowments; and financial aid is not always being directed to the neediest students, in part because colleges discount tuition to serve their own needs, e.g., "to lure students who raise their stature in U.S. News & World Report rankings, to round out a basketball team or orchestra, or simply to even out an imbalance between men and women." There is some movement on Capitol Hill to reform federal student aid programs, including one proposal to withhold aid from schools that raise their tuition by more than twice the rate of inflation, and to introduce accountability into the higher ed system - think NCLB for higher ed. However, it remains to be seen whether any meaningful proposal can make it past the higher ed lobby, which over the years has killed off many cost containment plans. According to David Longanecker, who headed the Education Department's higher education office under President Clinton, it's a good bet that "'not much will happen' when Congress finally passes a bill."
"Five truths about tuition," by Christopher Shea, New York Times, November 9, 2003
"Rich colleges receiving richest share of U.S. aid," by Greg Winter, New York Times, November 9, 2003
"What a deal!," by Kate Zernike, New York Times, November 9, 2003
"I'm NOT going to pay a lot for this education," by James Schembari, New York Times, November 9, 2003
"Where does it go?," by Greg Winter, New York Times, November 9, 2003,
"Colleges face veritable SAT of challenges," by June Kronholz, Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2003 (subscription required)