The price of college / Politics plays a role - Press of Atlantic City

Every parent or student opening a tuition bill has wondered why college costs so much. Many parents can recall spending just a couple of thousand dollars a year to attend a state college in the early 1990s, a fraction of the average $12,000 a year in tuition and fees it cost this year to attend a four-year public college in New Jersey. But while it's easy to just blame the colleges - indeed, much of the spending at today's colleges and universities does seem exorbitant - the total picture is more complex, according to a March report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Public college budgeting is largely a balance of state aid and student tuition and fees. The percentage paid by each varies by state, but typically if state aid goes down, tuition goes up. http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/editorials/the-price-of-college-politics-plays-a-role/article_0e281259-28e9-51c4-a97f-e28392328858.html