Financing Postsecondary Education in the United States.

Overview & Synopsis

This final report explores four general areas on the financing of postsecondary education: (1) the costs and impacts of current governmental aid programs to postsecondary education; (2) the costs and impacts of alternative financing patterns in relation to national objectives for postsecondary education; (3) the nature and causes of financial distress in postsecondary educational institutions; and (4) the formulation of interim national uniform standards for determining the annual per-student costs of providing postsecondary education. Conclusions and recommendations are suggested in the area of postsecondary education in a changing society, objectives for postsecondary education, current financing patterns, assessing the achievement of the national objectives, the incidence of financial distress among institutions of postsecondary education, a framework for analyzing national policies for financing postsecondary education, an analysis of alternative financing plans, and national standard procedures for institutional costing and data reporting. Statistical data are included. (MJM)