John Boehner, September 19, 2003

Recently, the U.S. House Education Committee issued a report that made quite a splash on U.S. college campuses and throughout the national media. For college students, recent grads, and their parents, however, the report merely confirmed what they already knew: the cost of obtaining a college education is spiraling out of control.

These exploding cost increases are threatening to put college out of reach for scores of lower and middle income families – a devastating trend not just for students, but for the American workforce and economy as well. I’ve long contended that without a solid education on all levels, future generations have virtually no chance at achieving the American Dream. As a college education slips further and further from the grasp of more American students, so too – sadly - will that Dream.

Among the more interesting findings of this report – and one that has raised the most eyebrows across the country – is that the college cost crisis is not simply a result of state budget cuts in higher education. The conventional wisdom was that college costs have skyrocketed because of budget constraints the recent economic downturn forced upon all 50 states. We’ve now discovered that this "conventional wisdom" is nothing more than faulty information.

To the contrary, the report found that costs for higher education are rising because students and parents lack the consistent ability to hold the higher education system accountable for disproportionate tuition increases. In short, they don’t have access to the kind of information they need to fully exercise their power as consumers. After all, college students and their parents are just that: "consumers." And for these consumers, the market has not been kind.

According to the College Board, there was very little real growth in college prices during the 1970s. In the early 1980s, however, the tide began to take a turn for the worse. Tuition and fees began to grow much more rapidly than the average prices of other goods and services. In fact, during the 1980s, the cost of attending college rose more than three times as fast as the typical family income. This trend of rapidly-increasing college costs continued unfettered through the 1990s.

Consider this: Over a ten-year period ending in 2002-2003 - after adjusting for inflation – the average tuition at both public and private colleges rose 38 percent. Looking back even further, since 1981, the cost of a four-year public education has risen by 202 percent! That’s MORE THAN DOUBLE the average cost increase for other goods and services during that same time period.

This report is especially important and timely because Congress is in the midst of renewing the Higher Education Act – the primary federal law affecting colleges and universities. In reality, federal involvement in higher education is rather minimal – and for good reason. However, we should seize this unique opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of the college cost crisis. And in the weeks and months to come, we will work closely with all stakeholders in higher education to make a concerted effort to improve the affordability of a college education in America

Congressman John Boehner represents the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives.