Do Price Controls Help Students? - Nate Johnson, Inside Higher Ed

It is easy to criticize Santa Monica Community College’s recent decision to charge more for high-demand classes. Community colleges are, by design, supposed to make sure that everyone has at least one public higher education option within reach financially and geographically. American higher education is a divided system, in which the “haves” fret over their odds of getting into Swarthmore, while the “have-nots” balance minimum-wage jobs with classes at a nearby public college. In that light, tuition increases for high-demand courses look like an assault on the last bastion of equity, creating two tiers within the community colleges themselves. Students who can pay more -- or take on more debt -- will have better options. Those who can’t, won’t.