Dive Brief:
- In fiscal year 2012, for the first time, tuition surpassed state money as funding sources for public universities, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
- According to the GAO, the statistic is evidence that college is becoming unaffordable, the Huffington Post reports.
- Tuition in 2012 accounted for 25% of total revenues for public colleges and universities, compared to 23% for all state sources combined — a dip from 32% in 2003.
Dive Insight:
The GAO study, released last month, looked at figures from 2003 through 2012. The federal Pell Grant program now accounts for a smaller portion of the total cost of college than it ever has. In the 1970s, about three-quarters of the public college revenues were from state sources. While young Americans typically blame colleges and universities for the rising student debt problem, it is state budget cuts that are driving up tuition, the GAO reports.
