More proof that college affordability is a huge problem

For the first time, public college funding is coming primarily out of the pockets of students instead of the states — a new normal that keeps college from being affordable.

A new federal study, conducted by the Government Accountability Office, tracked public college revenue between 2003 and 2012 and the difference is astonishing.

Back in 2003, state funding accounted for 32 percent of the revenue of public college’s revenue — its biggest source of revenue — while tuition made up 17 percent. Every year the gap between the two closed, as student tuition went up and state funding dropped.

In 2012, tuition made up 25 percent of revenue, while money from state governments made up 23 percent.

State funding decreased by 12 percent overall while median tuition rose 55 percent across all public colleges, the report stated.

“The decline in state funding for public colleges may have been due in part to the impact of the recent recession on state budgets. Colleges began receiving less of their total funding from states and increasingly relied on tuition revenue during this period,” the report explained. “…These increases have contributed to the decline in college affordability as students and their families are bearing the cost of college as a larger portion of their total family budgets.”

Federal aid has not helped the problem.

The GAO found that federal support for higher education is primarily targeted at funding financial aid on the student level, than by making up for the gap in state funding. But with the increased tuition costs, the federal government’s Pell grant now covers smallest portion of the cost of college in the program’s history, the report found.

“The bottom line is that college has become less affordable for students and their families,” said Melissa Emrey-Arras, a leader of the study, in a GAO podcast. “It’s not just a perception thing. There really is truth to that in terms of the numbers that we’ve seen.”

(H/t USA Today)