Today's Institutions
College Affordability

College Affordability

A student should pay 10 percent of disposable income for 10 years and earnings from 10 hours of work every week while in school to cover college expenses.

Across the political spectrum, there is widespread concern that the rising price of college requires immediate action. Students and families have shouldered an increasing burden by paying higher tuition and fees and, in many cases, taking on more debt when tuition and living expenses are too high, and family savings are inadequate.

That is why Lumina worked with affordability experts from healthcare and housing to develop a “Rule of 10” that estimates what students should be expected to contribute. We use this model to help policymakers consider options for reducing financial barriers to education after high school.

Although students, parents, and policymakers know that we face major challenges in addressing college affordability, we found no common definition of what’s “affordable.” Defining affordability in terms of how much students should be expected to contribute toward their education is just a first step. Only then can higher education leaders and state and federal policymakers determine the extent of the problem and assess which policy proposals can make college truly affordable for today’s students.

The rising expense of college is among the reasons enrollment has declined over time.

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The Rule of 10

A Benchmark for Making College Affordable

Lumina has posed what we call “The Rule of 10: A Benchmark for Making College Affordable”. The affordability benchmark is based on the idea that college would be affordable if its expenses could be covered by saving a modest amount (10 percent of one’s discretionary income) over 10 years and working 10 hours a week while in school. For families making less than 200% of the poverty level, college shouldn’t require more of a contribution than what would be earned from 10 hours a week of work.

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