Tuition Hikes in Store at Some State Universities

Ben Barrett was quoted in U.S. News & World Report about state disinvestment in higher education:

"In California, there's been pushback on the method of using out-of-state enrollment for shoring up their budget," says Benjamin Barrett, a program associate at think-tank New America in the District of Columbia.

Barrett says many states use out-of-state student enrollment to make ends meet since "they obviously pay more in tuition."

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"There's definitely a higher incentive to keep in-state tuition low and there's not much accountability on out-of-state students on the prices they pay," says Barrett from New America.

Another example is Iowa, where the state's regents voted this month to raise in-state tuition by 2 percent for all three of Iowa's four-year public institutions for the 2017-2018 school year.

For parents and students who are making a school selection based on a set anticipated price for four years, Barrett recommends to look at laws requiring schools to publish four-year prices. "That school locks in rates upfront, so you're not stuck with the price shock for your sophomore," he says.