The Big Shift: Who Pays for Public Higher Education

State vs Student funding over timeThis chart shows very clearly how the cost of educating students in Massachusetts public colleges and universities has been shifted from the state to the students and their families.  This has happened at the same time that there has been growing recognition that higher education is a public good – that it benefits our entire society.  Another view of the same phenomenon shows the increase in student fees related to decreases in state appropriations.