Meanwhile, the overall cost of net tuition, fees, room and board rose 69 percent at public universities between 1997-98 and last year, even after being adjusted for inflation, according to the College Board. That’s a period during which the Census Bureau reports that median household earnings fell.
“The price inches up each year while family incomes for the vast majority of Americans stagnate,” said Mark Huelsman, who studies education trends as a senior analyst at the left-leaning policy organization Dēmos.