College Affordability - Introduction

Education Program

Introduction

In today's ever-changing society, a high school degree no longer is the entry point into the middle class. In the new economy, fewer jobs are available to those without bachelor's degrees, and many fields-such as science and engineering-require advanced degrees to even enter the profession. At the same time, however, the price of college is rising making college less accessible. This problem could threaten the economic vitality of states and, as a result, is making its way onto many legislative agendas.

Although most state legislatures do not directly set tuition rates, state fiscal policy significantly affects college prices. Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2002, most states are reporting that their budgets are not meeting projections, leaving them with uncertain economic futures or causing them to begin reductions. During such conditions, higher education budgets usually become targets for cutbacks. Now is an especially important time for NCSL to help state legislatures in thinking in new ways about how to craft effective, long-term policy, particularly with respect to college affordability, that enables citizens to attend college, succeed once there and graduate prepared to enter the workforce.

With support from Lumina Foundation for Education, NCSL began in April 2002, an 18-month project to assist state legislatures, one of the primary policymaking entities in higher education, in making informed, long-term decisions about college affordability and access.

The project has three primary goals:

To elevate the profile of access and affordability issues among state legislators.
To raise awareness among state lawmakers and legislative staff about the concepts of college affordability and access and their relationship to each other.
To assist state legislators in making informed, long-term legislative decisions about college affordability that are grounded in fundamental state values about higher education.

To accomplish our goals, we hope to:

Engage state legislators and legislative staff in national and state dialogues on affordability and access issues.
Bring new research and information on affordability and access to legislators and staff and provide forums to discuss implications on state policy.
Disseminate information about state policy and legislative trends and issues.
Work with several states in-depth to assist them in their discussion, consideration, and implementation of affordability and access policy.

Please contact the education department @ NCSL for more information.

Education Home Page