New Jersey Tuition 49% above National Average

"In New Jersey, a higher cost of living only partially explains why public four-year tuition is nearly 49 percent above the national average. The state underwrites only about half the costs at its colleges, compared with closer to 65 percent in other states, experts say.

For fiscal year 2006, direct funding for the nine state colleges and universities went from $287.9 million to $288.8 million, an increase of 0.1 percent.

'We're not highly subsidized in New Jersey and that certainly is something we want policymakers to take a look at,' said Paul Shelly, spokesman for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities. 'We've been trying to solve it with tuition and trying to address it with financial aid, but there's a compelling reason to try to keep college affordable for everyone rather than just subsidize it with aid for the needy.'"
NorthJersey.com