Higher Education: Tuition Increasing Faster Than Household Income and Public Colleges' Costs

Pursuant to congressional requests, GAO provided information on: (1) changes in college tuition levels relative to increases in consumer prices and families' ability to pay; (2) the extent that increased expenditures for instruction, administration, research, and other services have contributed to the increase in colleges' overall expenditures; (3) how tuition levels at public colleges and universities vary among the states and the factors that account for the differences; and (4) what actions states and institutions have taken to deal with affordability issues.