Higher ed affordability is about more than tuition – The Hill

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by Evan Kropp, opinion contributor – 11/07/26 11:00 AM ET

Higher education media is filled with articles describing a decline or “collapse of confidence” in higher education. But it is important to clarify what we are actually seeing.

A recent Gallup-Lumina Foundation study of 14,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 59 found that Americans still believe higher education is important, particularly for career advancement, and they feel that college degrees still matter as much as they did 20 years ago. Interest in enrolling also remains high, with 58 percent stating that they have considered pursuing a degree or credential within the last two years.

At the same time, confidence has declined in another sense. While people believe that higher education matters and would make a difference in their careers, a growing number of them do not believe they can afford it. Moreover, despite the benefits of having a degree, people are unsure if the cumulative costs of pursuing one justifies those benefits.

This, and other factors, contributes to enrollment pressures for colleges and universities. A natural reaction for institutions would be to address tuition affordability. But there’s a risk of overly focusing on tuition when, in reality, the issue of affordability is a multi-faceted one — especially for adult learners.

The tuition bill captures only one part of what students must pay when they enroll in a degree program. For adult learners in particular, other costs include lost wages from reduced work hours, managing childcare or elder care, potential relocation or housing expenses, transportation, opportunities lost at work due to conflicts with coursework and rigid course schedules that can force students to stay enrolled longer than a program’s curriculum technically requires.

Due to these hidden costs, a program can look affordable on paper but still be financially and pragmatically out of reach for many students.

Flexibility is often treated as a matter of scheduling and access, but it impacts affordability as well. Program structure can impact wages, relocation, housing, commuting, childcare or elder care and invisible costs such as meals and parking.

Transportation is a good example. A 2023 report from the Trellis Company found that transportation accounted for almost 20 percent of the cost of attending college for commuters, and the College Board estimated an average annual transportation budget of $2,070 for students commuting to public two-year colleges.

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