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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.