According to a Report College Affordability Has Stabilized

(Adobe Stock via Prairie News Service)

(By Mike Moen. Prairie News Service) – Families planning for college might be worried about tuition “sticker shock” following decades of higher education cost hikes but analysts believe affordability is more realistic these days than people might think, and a North Dakota leader agrees.

A new report published by the Brookings Institution found households with college-age students focus too much on the total tuition cost and not the net price, which is lowered by many forms of financial aid. Over the past 10 years, the analysis showed net prices have declined.

Lisa Johnson, deputy commissioner of academic and student affairs for the North Dakota University System, said despite the state’s best efforts to promote financial assistance, affordability doubts are still out there.

“You still encounter families that were unaware of a scholarship that their son or daughter might be eligible for,” Johnson noted.