Articles

Behind the headlines: More states failing in college affordability

Public Agenda Alert
September 7, 2006

A new report on higher education from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education flunked 43 states when it comes to affordability, up from 36 two years ago. Most of the remaining states got "D"s, and no state got better than a "C." The affordability grade is based on how much of the average family's income it costs to go to college.

A Public Agenda analysis from 2004 (which was produced for the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education) found that parents of high school students were increasingly worried about access to college. African Americans and Hispanics were especially concerned about access. Surveys find the vast majority of Americans believe a college education is more important than in the past and that
we should not allow the price of higher education to keep qualified students out.

When we asked young people about their plans for the future in our "Life After High School" study, we found that lack of money is not the only reason young adults don't go on to college, but it is a recurring theme. Many young people make compromises based on finances. The majority of African American and Hispanic young people, and about half of Asian Americans, say they would have gone to a different college if money had not been an issue.

When it comes to paying for college, the public sends many mixed signals in surveys about how serious the problem is and frankly admits its own lack of knowledge. Half of parents say they're "very concerned" about saving enough to send their child to college, and majorities of Americans say government needs to do more to make college more affordable. Yet a majority also says that "almost anyone who needs financial help to go to college can get loans or financial aid" and that if "someone really wants to go to college, they can find a way to pay for it." Surveys also show that while majorities say in general they know "a lot" or "a good amount" about what it costs to go to college, Americans are unsure of what college actually costs when given specific estimates.

Find out more about affordability in our issue guide on Higher Education: http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/
frontdoor.cfm?issue_type=higher_education

Download a copy of "Life After High School: Young People Talk About Their Hopes and Prospects":
http://www.publicagenda.org/research
/research_reports_details.cfm?list=31

Download a copy of "Public Attitudes on Higher Education: A Trend Analysis, 1993 to 2003":
http://www.publicagenda.org/research/
research_reports_details.cfm?list=6

Read the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education report: http://measuringup.highereducation.org/

Copyright 2006 Public Agenda. More information: www.publicagenda.com.

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About Public Agenda

Public Agenda is a nonpartisan opinion research organization helping Americans explore and understand critical issues since 1975. For more information about Public Agenda, visit www.publicagenda.org.

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