Higher Education Affordability
General
College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2006 High School Graduates (2007), U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 92.3 percent were full-time students and 40.8 percent of them were in the labor force — either working or looking for work in October 2006. In contrast, 81 percent of part-time college students participated in the labor force. More than 6 in 10 recent high school graduates who were enrolled in college attended four-year institutions. The labor force participation rate for these students was 35 percent, and their unemployment rate was 5.5 percent. 58.8 percent of those enrolled in two-year institutions were in the labor force and their unemployment rate was 11.5 percent.
Welcoming Remarks by Michael H. Moskow, The Future of Higher Education, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, November 2, 2005
“…universities have been unable to maintain the implicit "social compact" that once defined the relationship between universities and the public. This compact was based on a belief that education was largely a public good and, as such, government support was warranted... Today, many argue that higher education is a private good whose benefits primarily accrue to the student... This more market-driven notion suggests that higher education is an investment in an individual's human capital that has limited public spillovers. Therefore, it should be primarily financed by the individual.”College Costs
Trends in College Pricing 2007, College Board
Published tuition and fee charges at four-year public colleges average $6,185 in 2007-08. The average total tuition, fee, room, and board charges for in-state students at public institutions are $13,589. After grant aid and tax benefits are considered, full-time students enrolled in public four-year colleges and universities pay on average about $2,600 in net tuition and fees. Published tuition and fee charges at four-year private colleges average $23,712 in 2007-08. The average total tuition, fee, room, and board charges at private four-year colleges and universities are $32,307. Full-time students enrolled in private colleges and universities pay on average about $14,400 in net tuition and fees after grant aid and tax benefits.Facts about Tuition & Fees (2006), Minnesota Office of Higher Education
During the 1990s, tuition and required fees at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities increased by 82 percent. Within [Minnesota’s State Colleges and Universities system], tuition and fees increased by 64 percent in the state universities, 65 percent in community colleges, and 58 percent in technical colleges. Average tuition and fees at private liberal arts colleges increased 71 percent. In contrast, per capita personal income in Minnesota grew by 50 percent over the same period.Student Aid
Undergraduate Financial Aid Estimate for 12 States: 2003-04 (September 2006), National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, National Center for Education Statistics. Further analysis: Minnesota Office of Higher Education
About four out of five (82 percent) in-state undergraduates in Minnesota work while enrolled, including 30 percent who worked 35 or more hours per week during the 2003-04 academic year (Table 8.7). The majority of all undergraduates work while enrolled regardless of their attendance status, family income or institution type.Trends in Student Aid 2007, College Board
Almost three-quarters of full-time students receive grant aid that lowers the price they actually pay to attend college. Millions of students also benefit from federal tax credits and deductions for college tuition. In 2006-07, undergraduate students received a total of $97.1 billion in student aid from federal and state governments, colleges and universities, and other private sources. About 21 percent of this aid was in the form of grants from colleges and universities and 40 percent was in the form of loans through the federal government.Fast Facts about Financial Aid (2006), Minnesota Office of Higher Education
Minnesota undergraduates received $782 million in grants and $949 million in student and parent higher education loans in Fiscal Year 2005 (2004-05 academic year). They earned an additional $39 million from federal and state work study jobs.State Grant Program Data (2007), Minnesota Office of Higher Education
The Minnesota State Grant Program, the state's largest financial aid program, provided more than $124 million to 71,108 Minnesota undergraduates in 2005-2006.Undergraduate Borrowing Fact Sheet (2006), Minnesota Office of Higher Education
Minnesota undergraduates borrowed $949 million in student loans in Fiscal Year 2005. From 1987 to 2003, borrowing increased faster than tuition or inflation. Borrowing particularly rose after federal changes in 1992 increased borrowing limits and made more students eligible to borrow.Appropriations to Higher Educaton
State Shortfalls Projects to Continue Despite Economic Gains; Long-Term Prospects for Higher Education No Brighter PDF 146 KB, (2006), Dennis Jones, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems projects that Minnesota will face a fiscal shortfall of 4.4 percent of revenue by 2013. "These continuing financial pressures will limit appropriations to higher education." "The result for higher education will be increased competition for what resources remain, intensified by the greater growth in demand for state services other than higher education."State and Local Support for Higher Education (2007) National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
A Bigger Bang for the Public Buck: Achieving Efficiency and Equity in Higher Education PDF 319 KB, (2002), Jenny B. Wahl, Minnesota Private College Research Foundation
"What is the best way to fund higher education so people make choices that yield socially efficient and equitable results and that use public dollars wisely? Economic theory, as well as overwhelming evidence, clearly suggests a cost-based-tuition, needbased- aid approach. The alternative—a low-tuition, taxpayer-financed approach—leads to large subsidies to students from middle- and high-income families, too little education for youths from low-income families, lower quality of education, and wasted public funds."Family Savings
Personal Savings & Disposable Income, U.S. 1966-2006, PDF 49 KB, (2007), Bureau of Economic Analysis, Minnesota Private College Research Foundation
Even as costs rise, families are saving less money than in the past, and thus may have fewer resources available to pay for college. In 2004, Americans saved just 1.2% of their disposable personal income, the lowest level of personal savings in any year since the Great Depression. In 2006, they saved negative 1%.College Savings Plans Network Program Statistics (2007)
As of December 31, 2006 46,399 accounts had been established under the Minnesota 529 college savings plan. The value of funds in these accounts is just over $531 million.
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Percent of 2006 High School Graduates Working
Recent high school graduates who were not enrolled in college in the fall of 2006 were more likely than enrolled graduates to be in the labor force (76.4 vs. 43.9 percent).
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
