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The article presents a discussion of several issues faced by universities in the Pacific West region of the U.S., focusing on ways in which decreased federal funding will impact their budgets and strategic plans. Efforts by colleges in the region to increase revenue by raising tuition are highlighted along with alterations to the student financial aid models used at the region's state-funded schools. Several statistics are provided regarding college student demographics, college costs at public and private universities, and the salaries of college teachers in states including Alaska, Oregon, and California.

The article discusses price increases in private colleges, noting that 58 colleges reached a yearly price of $50,000 or more for tuition, fees, room and board. It notes that many colleges offer generous aid packages to a large percentage of students. Private colleges have worked hard to keep increases low and to keep the average loan total with which students graduate constant. Controversy exists about whether the total price for private colleges is headed towards an unsustainable figure. Some experts see that middle class families will be unable to afford the prices and will look to other options. Others see no drop in applications and no trouble filling classes, implying that families see value in a private college education.

The article looks at how U.S. President George W. Bush revealed that he would pay for a much-heralded increase in the maximum Pell Grant by cutting lender subsidies and eliminating the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program. Taken together, the maximum grants would cover all tuition and fees and up to $4,000 in living expenses for community-college students, and tuition and fees for sophomores at an average four-year public institution, in 2008. According to the article, the increases would come at a cost to some low-income students and to lenders in the federal government's guaranteed-loan program.

The article discusses the costs of attending college, focusing on Elmhurst College in Illinois. It presents a graph that links the price of college to family income. The author considers various types of student aid, including merit aid, enrichment awards for students from underrepresented groups, and aid to students who file a U.S. Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

In this article the author examines differing views on reasons college tuition increases in the U.S. He explains that rising tuition may result from increased student demand as well as decreased federal aid to public colleges and queries the impact federal student aid subsidies, grants, and federal loans have on decisions by universities to increase tuition.

The article discusses results of a survey which shows that private colleges spent more on grant aid in 2008 than they ever have before, and that their tuition-discount rate, the difference between what students pay and the stated tuition, rose in 2008 after years of stability. Factors cited include the effects of the recession on families' ability to pay, pressure to maintain enrollment, and recruitment competition. Costs of the aid include salary and hiring freezes and staff reductions .

The article presents information on the cost of education at California's 2-year colleges, despite the fact that they have the lowest tuition rates in the United States. A March 2007 report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education says that many state residents with low or moderate incomes cannot afford to attend the community colleges due to hidden costs, such as housing, food, health care, textbooks, and supplies. The report estimates that tuition represents only 5 percent of the students' costs. It recommends that legislators focus on increasing state grants for nontuition expenses instead of focusing on low tuition.