College price hikes more modest but still painful

The report largely blames state cuts for rising tuition, highlighting historical data showing tuition jumps most when states support falls. According to the College Board — a not-for-profit membership group that promotes college access and owns the SAT exam — state funding per student to higher education has now declined four straight years, and is down 26 percent over the last five.

The tectonic shifts in the economics of higher education, with costs shifting from the states to families and the federal government, are on display across the country, though perhaps nowhere more vividly than in places like the California State University system, which educates 427,000 students. CSU, which saw state cuts of $750 million this year alone, has said it will have to increase tuition again as soon as this winter if a state ballot initiative that would provide more funding fails to pass on Nov. 6.