At state schools, the sharp increase in tuition costs over the last decade have had just as much to do (if not more) with a corresponding decrease in state fund

At state schools, the sharp increase in tuition costs over the last decade have had just as much to do (if not more) with a corresponding decrease in state funding. State legislatures all over this country -- starting with the 2008 recession but never quite stopping -- have cut support to these institutions. Often schools raise tuition in response, because many of them have mandates to serve X number of in-state students or have Y programs or perform research at threshold Z. (The best part is when the politicians who voted for the cut in funding turn around a year later and say why are you raising tuition?!) This is a vicious cycle, and it only serves one class of people: students who are born into well-off families who can afford tuition at these rates out of pocket. Those who aren't have to take out larger and larger loans just to attempt to complete a degree. It's really sad, because it doesn't need to be this way.