Straight Talk about College Costs and Prices The Final Report and Supplemental Material from the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781573562256
• ISBN10: 1573562254
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-03-03
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• More Book Details
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Summary

This book details the findings and recommendations proposed by The National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, a Congressional commission appointed to make proposals aimed at controlling the cost of higher education. These recommendations call for action by Congress, by institutions of higher education, by state and local governments, and by American families. Grouped into five categories, these goals propose: greater institutional cost control and productivity, improved institutional accountability to the general public, new Government approaches to academic regulation, well-coordinated and efficient accrediting processes that relate institutional productivity to effectiveness in learning, and for Congress to continue the existing student aid programs and simplify and improve the financial aid delivery system.

Author Biography

A publication of the Program on Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction (PONSI) of the American Council on Education's Center for Adult Learning and Educational Credentials.

Table of Contents

Members of the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education	vii	(2)
Foreword	ix	(2)
William E. Troutt
Introduction	xi	(2)
Bruno V. Manno
Letter of Transmittal	xiii
William E. Troutt
Barry Munitz
Straight Talk About College Costs and Prices	1	(8)
"Cost and Price Drivers" in Higher Education	9	(4)
Convictions and Recommendations	13	(10)
A Word to Students and Families	23	(2)
Commission Vote	25	(1)
Endnotes	26	(1)
Appendices	27	(133)
Appendix A: The Unfinished Agenda	29	(1)
Appendix B: Technical Note	30	(4)
Appendix C: Commissioner Biographies	34	(5)
Appendix D: Commission Meetings	39	(2)
Appendix E: Expert Papers	41	(87)
Are Postsecondary Education and Training Worth It? How Do You Know?	43	(27)
Federal Student Aid and the Growth in College Costs and Tuitions: Examining the Relationship	70	(14)
Remarks on Restructuring Higher Education	84	(9)
Student Aid and Tuition: Toward A Causal Analysis	93	(10)
The Real Cost of Higher Education, Who Should Pay It and How?	103	(14)
College Costs: Subsidies, Intuition, and Policy	117	(11)
Appendix F: Consultants	128	(1)
Appendix G: Supplementary Research Material	129	(31)
List of Contents & Exhibits	131	(6)
Introduction	137	(2)
Preface: Setting the Stage for Understanding Rising College Costs and Prices	139	(3)
Glossary of Terms	142	(2)
Selected Testimony	144	(16)
Issues	160	(156)
Issue 1: The increase in tuition compared to other commodities and services	160	(73)
Issue 2: Innovative methods for reducing or stabilizing tuition	233	(15)
Issue 3: Trends in college and university administrative costs, including administrative staffing, ratio of administrative staff to instructors, ratio of administrative staff to students, remuneration of administrative staff, and remuneration of college and university presidents or chancellors	248	(4)
Issue 4: Trends of (a) faculty workload and remuneration (including the use of adjunct faculty), (b) faculty-to-student ratios, (c) number of hours spent in the classroom by faculty, and (d) tenure practices, and the impact of such trends on tuition	252	(13)
Issue 5: Trends in (a) the construction and renovation of academic and other collegiate facilities, and (b) the modernization of facilities to access and utilize new technologies, and the impact of such trends on tuition	265	(16)
Issue 6: The extent to which increases in institutional aid and discounting have affected tuition increases, (including the demographics of students receiving such aid, the extent to which such aid is provided to students with limited need in order to attract such students to particular institutions or major fields of study, and the extent to which Federal financial aid, including loan aid, has been used to offset such increases)	281	(6)
Issue 7: The extent to which Federal, State, and local laws, regulations, or other mandates contribute to increasing tuition, and recommendations on reducing those mandates	287	(7)
Issue 8: The establishment of a mechanism for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities	294	(2)
Issue 9: The extent to which student financial aid programs have contributed to changes in tuition	296	(7)
Issue 10: Trends in State fiscal policies that have affected college costs	303	(6)
Issue 11: The adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities	309	(7)
The Unfinished Agenda	316