College—overpriced, priceless, or both?

A Strada Education Foundation brief published earlier this month offers the latest evidence that cost is a major obstacle for would-be and former college students. Cost Confusion: Americans’ Misperceptions of College Costs, shares findings from a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, 77% of whom felt that college is unaffordable. As its title implies, though, the report also asserts that a lack of transparency complicates education pathways. 

Ambiguity pervades many sources of financial aid, which are often couched in inconsistent terms and conditions difficult for students and families to fathom, the report notes. Increasing numbers of institutions offer tuition discounts, further clouding net costs, which ultimately vary greatly among individual students.

When asked about the cost (excluding housing and food) of community college, more than half of survey respondents estimated that students pay nearly double actual expenses. For four-year institutions, the majority of respondents estimated that on average, students pay more than $30,000 annually. One in five indicated the cost was more than $50,000. (The actual figure is $21,000, inclusive of net tuition, fees, books, meals, and housing.)

Along with CAEL’s report on never-enrolled adults, these perceptions highlight a troubling reality. CAEL’s report, based on a survey of more than 2,000 never-enrolled adults, found the cost of attending college is the biggest barrier to doing so. Eighty-five percent of respondents ranked affordability "extremely" or "very" important. Half of those who never applied cited affordability as the reason for never taking that initial step toward enrollment. Meanwhile, more than 70% of respondents said that lower costs would make them more likely to enroll in the future. CAEL data also show that about a third of adult learners would anticipate having to budget as much as $50,000 or more annually for postsecondary education.

Yet another recent study, this one from Lumina Foundation and Gallup, found that most Americans think college is too expensive. Nevertheless, a majority of those surveyed also said it’s valuable.

These findings underscore an unfortunate irony as well as a profound opportunity. Financial burdens are unquestionably a perennial hurdle to credential completion. But it is evident that a lack of transparency and misunderstanding of college costs also threaten enrollment. For many prospective students, colleges are only out of reach because those colleges are out of touch—on costs and, too often, on the link between learning and labor market outcomes.

Students need greater transparency about the price of postsecondary education to help them understand the financial impact of their education decisions. But, as the CAEL report stresses, they also need greater transparency about how credentials will translate in the workforce. The report found that for 70% of surveyed adults, the primary reason for considering a postsecondary program was financial (43% “to get a better job" and 27% “to make more money.”)

Criticisms of college credentials often overlook important pieces of the puzzle. Like any investment, both the cost and the outcome determine the ultimate return. CAEL’s Adult Learner Leaders for Institutional Effectiveness Framework offers guidance any institution can use to meet the challenges and opportunities related to program affordability, student and labor market data, and transparency on program costs. Available at cael.org, the framework helps postsecondary education providers forge education-employment pathways that help ensure that whatever the price of college, it always delivers economic mobility.