College Spending in a Turbulent Decade: Findings from the Delta Cost Project

The Delta Cost Project has released its annual update to its Trends in College Spending series that examines trends in revenues and spending for public and private nonprofit colleges and universities. This latest update adds data from 2010 and looks at patterns from the preceding year and decade. Due to increased enrollment and spending and decreased state appropriations, colleges served a growing student body with fewer overall resources. The report notes that community colleges faced the greatest challenges but that all institutions made cuts to academic programs and services.

Among the findings:

• Community colleges faced historic enrollment increases and significant state funding decreases which led to a significant decline in academic spending. Community colleges spent less per student in 2010 than in 2000.
  
  
  
  • Despite funding cuts, community colleges limited increases in tuition to maintain affordability. 


• Both public and private nonprofit colleges and universities spent less on academics and related activities in 2010. Education and related spending per FTE students declined between one and two percent from the prior year at public and private four-year institutions. Community colleges experienced a greater decrease in education and related spending, falling eight percent between 2009 and 2010. 


• With decreases in state appropriations (a decade low) and decreases in institutional resources, students took on more of the financial burden through increased tuition. For the first time, public research and master’s institutions generated more revenue from net tuition than from state and local appropriations. Students at private colleges and universities also shouldered a greater of the educational costs through tuition increases. 


• Degree productivity (number of degrees awarded per 100 FTE) did not improve in the public or private sector between 2009 and 2010 despite an increase in the number of degrees granted. Public and community colleges experienced the biggest decreases in degree productivity. • 


• Costs per degree declined overall in 2010 but levels were still among the highest in the last decade. Community Colleges, however, were an exception. Among community colleges, the cost per degree/completion was less in 2010 than in 2000. This phenomena stems from the growth of shorter-less costly certificate programs at community colleges.