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.


Should Illegal Immigrants Get In-State Tuition?

Politicians in different states see in-state tuition benefits for “undocumented” students very differently. Some see them as rewarding illegal immigration, while others see them as investing in the community. States…


UNC Tuition Has Already Tripled

Last month, members of the UNC System Board of Governors’ Committee on Budget and Finance discussed proposed tuition increases, including increases for in-state undergraduates. This is the first time in…


UW’s Budget Cuts Aren’t Enough

On January 13, 2026, the Wyoming Legislature’s most powerful body—the Joint Appropriations Committee—voted to cut and withhold nearly $61 million from the University of Wyoming’s recommended budget. News of the…


Why College-Goers Misunderstand Debt

Student-loan debt is one of the largest financial obligations many Americans will ever take on. To an 18-year-old who has never paid rent or balanced a budget, $80,000 in loans…


Another College Costs Calculator

For families across North Carolina, the most confusing part of the college decision is no longer writing application essays but trying to pin down a price that often feels deliberately…


The Cost of Tuition Discounting

Public universities have spent years insisting that rising tuition is unavoidable. State funding, they say, hasn’t kept pace. Costs are up, and quality must be maintained. But a new brief…


Wyoming’s Higher-Ed Funding Choice

Last week, Cowboy State Daily—Wyoming’s largest news outlet—published a piece titled “UW Seeks Extra $54 Million On Top Of Its $440 Million State-Funded Budget.” Cowboy State Daily’s reporter did a…