In real terms, tuition fees in public universities peaked in the early 2010s. They have not kept up with inflation since then. That explains a large part of the fiscal disaster.
Can you source this? My cursory research shows the opposite[1]. Imo, the fiscal disaster is in part due to enrollment declining (which, ironically enough, mainly affects low-income households).
Declining enrollment affects universities very unevenly. University of California is still under pressure to increase enrollment, which is mostly constrained by physical capacity. The housing situation is particularly bad on some campuses.
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In real terms, tuition fees in public universities peaked in the early 2010s. They have not kept up with inflation since then. That explains a large part of the fiscal disaster.
Can you source this? My cursory research shows the opposite[1]. Imo, the fiscal disaster is in part due to enrollment declining (which, ironically enough, mainly affects low-income households).
[1] https://myelearningworld.com/cost-of-college-vs-inflation/
Here is one example: https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-by-year
Declining enrollment affects universities very unevenly. University of California is still under pressure to increase enrollment, which is mostly constrained by physical capacity. The housing situation is particularly bad on some campuses.