Costs

American colleges and universities spend billions of dollars a year from state, federal, and private sources. The following articles identify ways to cut costs and ensure that public investment in higher education provides value to students, taxpayers, and society.


Are Microcredentials Worth the Cost?

In recent years, short-term credentials (also known as “microcredentials” or “postsecondary programs and certificates … which generally take one year or less to earn”) have gained traction among students wishing…


Checking In On Tuition Freezes

About a decade ago, public universities around the country began freezing tuition in response to student and parent complaints about the high costs of a college education. In the years…


Saint Augustine’s Hail Mary

Saint Augustine’s University (SAU), a private Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Raleigh, N.C., announced on December 11 that it had been removed from membership with the Southern Association…



Pick a College and Graduate

The rising cost of college has been a serious issue in recent decades. Students everywhere are trying out different strategies as a result. Some are deciding not to go to…


Should English Majors Pay Less?

Institutions of higher education are bracing for a crunch, if they aren’t experiencing one already. Slowing population growth, mounting skepticism of academia, and various other factors have provoked college leaders—at…


How Do Work Colleges Work?

Warren Wilson College is a tiny university tucked away near Asheville, N.C. But it’s a crucial part of a distinctive yet underappreciated segment of the higher-education marketplace: work colleges. As…


Let’s Regulate Colleges Like Businesses

Colleges do not look like for-profit firms selling investments. After all, colleges are primarily nonprofits or state agencies, which, for our purposes, are treated equally. Nevertheless, colleges behave like for-profit…