Two Reports on Higher Education in PA

Two notes or reports on higher education caught my eye recently. In today's Inquirer ("Pa is a failure at keeping college affordable for all," by Martha Raffaele), an article mentions a report by the nonprofit National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education which put Pennsylvania among 43 states that fail to make college affordable. In reply:

A state Education Department spokesman said the findings were misleading, however, because the report combines the cost of attending Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities with the higher cost of four other "state-related" universities that receive state funding, but are not state-owned.

In other areas the state did well:

Pennsylvania's grades in "Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education":

Preparedness for college: B
Enrollment: B
Affordability: F
Degree completion: A
Benefits to the state: A-minus

At the end of August, IssuesPA posted a brief report entitled: Measuring State and Local Government Spending: Pennsylvania’s Priorities: How Do We Compare with Other States?

It notes that Pennsylvania spends 15% less on higher education than the national average. Oddly enough, it spends 1.6% more on elementary and secondary education than the national average.

Interesting stuff.