COLUMBUS – Look high and low, far and wide, and you will be hard-pressed to find a college education more expensive than the ones you can find right here in Ohio.
Even though tuition increases at Ohio’s four-year public colleges and universities have flattened out in recent years, it is still one of the most expensive states in the nation in which to pursue higher education, according to a new report.
The study released by the Institute for Research on Higher Education, a higher education policy group, ranked Ohio 45th in the U.S. in higher education affordability.
That is in spite of data that says tuition at Ohio’s four-year public institutions has increased by only 5.4 percent since 2008, the second-smallest increase in the nation.
The report, from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, concluded Ohio’s colleges and universities are receiving too little support from state government.
The report found that, while per-pupil spending increased by $263 over the last year, Ohio is spending 15 percent – or $1,059 — less per student than it did in 2008.
The report argues that state funding cuts weaken educational quality by causing reductions in faculty and course offerings.