Study Posits Higher Cost of Education at 2-Year Colleges

Master's-level four-year colleges may cost states less to educate students in their first two years than do community colleges, a new study by Cornell University's Higher Education Research Institute suggests. The study, by Richard M. Romano of Broome Community College and Yenni M. Djajalaksana of the University of South Florida, shows that the cost per full-time-equivalent student and the per-student subsidy provided by states are lower at the master's-level four-year institutions than at two-year institutions. The study includes various cautions, however, about the numerous limitations in the data.