Reviews of Breaking the Social Contract: The Fiscal Crisis in Higher Education

New York Times, June 18, 1997:

A blunt and far-ranging assessment of American higher education . . . a new report says that unless colleges reduce their costs sharply, they will be forced into large tuition increases that will take opportunities away from the poor.

U.S. News and World Report, June 30, 1997:

A new report from the Council for Aid to Education minces no words describing the rise in costs of going to college. If trends continue, "effectively half of those who want to pursue higher education"--estimated at 6.7 million people in 2015--"will be shut out," Given the link between education and income, this could widen the gap between rich and poor.

Stanley Ikenberry, president of the American Council on Education, June 18, 1997:

It defines the problems well, and speaks candidly about what states and institutions have to do to try to solve them.

The Washington Post, June 18, 1997:

A new report on the nation's universities warns that the pressures of growing enrollment, rising tuition, and declining funding have put campuses on a dangerous financial course . . . colleges face a funding shortfall that could make them turn away large numbers of students early in the next century.

USA Today, July 7, 1997:

At most colleges, tuition outstrips inflation. The nonprofit Council for Aid to Education predicts that if the 30-year trend continues, 6.7 million children born this year will be priced out of college.

The New Jersey Record, June 18, 1997:

The national report encompasses both points of view, placing the blame equally on inadequate public funding and an outdated system that encourages inefficiencies in colleges and universities.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 27, 1997:

It likens restructuring to the process that American businesses have undergone in recent years. The biggest challenge, according to the report, will be to overcome an "outmoded" governance structure that constrains institutions' ability to change.

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