Browsing by Author "Hiltonsmith, Robert"

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    Connecticut’s Great Cost Shift
    Hiltonsmith, Robert; Huelsman, Mark (Demos, 2014)
    In today’s economy, a college education is essential for getting a good job and entering the middle class. Yet, despite this reality, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many Connecticuters. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise by shifting costs onto students and families through declining state support. This report points out that Connecticut’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need. Students and their families now pay—or borrow—much more than they can afford to get a higher education, a trend which will have grave consequences for Connecticut’s future economy.
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    The Great Cost Shift Continues: State Higher Education Funding After the Recession
    Draut, Tamara; Hiltonsmith, Robert (Demos, 2014)
    The decreasing affordability of higher education is eroding the last relatively secure path into the middle class, as more students take on larger amounts of debt to finance their higher educations, or forego it altogether. With $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt and climbing, student loan debt is now substantial enough to affect our overall economy as indebted graduates find it harder to buy a home or a car. This report updates a previous analysis of state funding trends by examining trends in state funding and tuition since the Great Recession.
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    Minnesota’s Great Cost Shift
    Hiltonsmith, Robert; Huelsman, Mark (Demos, 2014)
    In today’s economy, a college education is essential for getting a good job and entering the middle class. Yet, despite this reality, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many Minnesotans. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise by shifting costs onto students and families though declining state support. This report is based on the Demos report “The Great Cost Shift”, which examines how nationwide disinvestment in public higher education over the past two decades has shifted costs to students and their families. The report outlines how such disinvestment is magnified by rapidly rising enrollments, and its effects are felt particularly acutely as student bodies become more economically, racially, and ethnically diverse. This report focuses on Minnesota, highlighting the trends in the state’s higher education funding over the last twenty years.
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    New Hampshire’s Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Have Fueled Student Debt and Undermine the State’s Future Middle Class
    Hiltonsmith, Robert (Demos, 2015)
    Today, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many Granite Staters. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise. This report shows that New Hampshire’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and, as a result, the state has the highest average tuition in the country. Students and their families now pay—or borrow—much more than they can afford to get a higher education, a trend which will have grave consequences for both their futures and for New Hampshire’s future economy.
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    New Jersey’s Great Cost Shift How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the State’s Future Middle Class
    Hiltonsmith, Robert; Huelsman, Mark (Demos, 2014)
    In today’s economy, a college education is essential for getting a good job and entering the middle class. Yet, despite this reality, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many New Jerseyans. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise by shifting costs onto students and families through declining state support. New Jersey’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need. This report shows that students and their families now pay—or borrow—much more than they can afford to get a higher education, a trend which will have grave consequences for New Jersey’s future economy.
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    New York’s Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the State’s Future Middle Class
    Hiltonsmith, Robert (Demos, 2013-08-01)
    Just as postsecondary education is becoming increasingly vital to getting a good job and entering the middle class, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many New Yorkers. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise by shifting costs onto students and families though declining state support. This report points out that New York’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past twenty years, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need. Students and their families now pay—or borrow—much more than they can afford to get a higher education, a trend which will have grave consequences for New York’s future economy.
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    Pulling Up the Higher-Ed Ladder: Myth and Reality in the Crisis of College Affordability
    Hiltonsmith, Robert (Demos, 2015)
    This report aims to pinpoint the cause(s) of spiraling tuition by taking a deep dive into public university revenue and spending data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Delta Cost Project Database. The authors split public 4-year universities into two categories: research institutions—schools that have a high level of research activity and award a significant number of doctorates—and master’s and bachelor’s universities—schools that primarily award master’s and/or bachelor’s degrees. They found that declining state appropriations for higher education is indeed the primary driver of rising tuition, responsible for 79 percent of tuition hikes at public research universities between 2001 and 2011 and 78 percent of tuition hikes at public master’s and bachelor’s universities over the same decade.
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    Small Loans, Big Risks Major Consequences for Student Debtors
    Hiltonsmith, Robert (Demos, 2017-01-10)
    The steep increase in college tuition and student debt over the past decade has led the country to engage in a serious debate about the need to reduce college costs and student borrowing. In this brief, the author uses data from Experian, one of the three major credit rating bureaus in the United States. The analysis examines the repayment status of student loan borrowers, analyzing the nature of student loan defaults and delinquencies, and the role of student loan balances on an individual’s overall financial security. As the brief shows, there is no “safe” amount of student debt: borrowers with small balances struggle to repay them at the same rate as borrowers with higher balances. That’s why this brief concludes with a series of policy reforms to address the underlying causes of rising student loan debt and the very real struggles millions face in repaying their loans.
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    Virginia’s Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the State’s Future Middle Class
    Hiltonsmith, Robert; Huelsman, Mark (Demos, 2014)
    In today’s economy, a college education is essential for getting a good job and entering the middle class. Yet, despite this reality, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many Virginians. State policy decisions have played a significant role in this rise by shifting costs onto students and families though declining state support. Virginia’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need. This report shows that students and their families now pay—or borrow—much more than they can afford to get a higher education, a trend which will have grave consequences for Virginia’s future economy.