College Cost Priniciples

Background

On March 17, 2003, the Education, Employment, and Training Committee agreed to a set of principles regarding Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization, and on June 11, 2003, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors adopted a policy statement containing these principles.  Two of these principles referenced accountability of results and transparency of requirements.

One issue that has surfaced in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is the escalating cost of postsecondary education.  An increasing number of people, including parents and legislators, are questioning what the return on investing in a college education is or will be compared to cost, and legislation has been introduced to address the issue.  At the same time the National Center for Education Statistics has conducted a series of studies on higher education costs that found that most public institutions of higher education have little control over setting tuition costs.  These factors contribute to the need to address the issue of escalating college costs through interpretation of the June 11, 2003 HEA statement of principles.

U.S. Chamber Position

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce does not believe that cost containment approaches address the core concerns that consumers (students, parents, and adult learners) have regarding increasing college costs. Instead, the Chamber agrees that individuals have the right to certain basic information regarding college costs in order to make informed choices about the education they receive for the investment they make.

This basic information includes:

• Percentage of initially enrolled students who make progress year to year toward a degree;
• Percentage of initially enrolled students who graduate in four, five and six years;
• Percentage of graduates that obtain jobs within one year of graduation;
• Proportion of graduates that successfully pass examinations to get into graduate and professional schools within one year of graduation;
• Proportion of graduates passing professional certification examinations directly related to the course of study taken at the institution; and
• Probability that students enrolled in specified fields of study will graduate with the requirements to gain employment.

The Chamber believes that this information should be easily accessible at no charge, and readily understood by the general public.  Information should be available for all types of postsecondary institutions, with the ability to compare within sectors, i.e., community college-to-community college.  Information should be available through a national network linked to states.  Additionally, the availability of this information should be made known through a variety of sources including utility bills, employers and employer intermediaries, and school personnel.  These data points are not necessarily measures of quality. Instead they provide information that will allow customers to make informed decisions as to attendance, cost and perceived value.