Schools spend less, students pay more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A non-profit says its study suggests U.S. college students throughout the nation are paying more while universities are spending less on them.

Jane Wellman, the executive director of the Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity and Accountability, said the study was based on data from colleges and universities that report to the U.S. government, The New York Times reported Friday.

The study said tuition payments from students are covering larger portions of the cost of their educations while most schools have cut instruction budgets and increased the share of money spent on administrative costs.

"Students are paying more, and a greater share of the costs, but are arguably getting less," Wellman said.

The Delta Project said about 1 million of the 18 million students involved in the study attend private research universities, which spend the most amount of money per student, while 6 million attend community colleges, which spend the least amount and have introduced the sharpest spending cuts.

"The institutions whose primary mission is teaching -- the masters and community colleges and bachelors colleges, are slowly disinvesting in the teaching function," Wellman said.