A typical student in an American public college pays thousands of dollars more in tuition than just a decade ago. Students and parents are worried and frustrated, and many point the finger at state legislators, who have cut funds to state schools. During last year’s presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton blamed “state disinvestment” in higher education for soaring tuition and declared her support for “free college.”
While the “disinvestment” narrative is simple and appealing, it collapses under scrutiny. If state funding to public colleges falls by $100 per student, it seems logical to conclude that tuition must go up by $100 to compensate. But that isn’t what happens. When the Great Recession began in 2008, funding at public colleges fell, as declining tax revenue forced states to make budget cuts. Tuition went up. In the mid-2000s, when the economy was strong, state funding to public colleges rose. Tuition went up then, too.