Higher ed affordability is about more than tuition

Higher education media is filled with articles describing a decline or “collapse of confidence” in higher education. But it is important to clarify what we are actually seeing.

A recent Gallup-Lumina Foundation study of 14,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 59 found that Americans still believe higher education is important, particularly for career advancement, and they feel that college degrees still matter as much as they did 20 years ago. Interest in enrolling also remains high, with 58 percent stating that they have considered pursuing a degree or credential within the last two years.

At the same time, confidence has declined in another sense. While people believe that higher education matters and would make a difference in their careers, a growing number of them do not believe they can afford it. Moreover, despite the benefits of having a degree, people are unsure if the cumulative costs of pursuing one justifies those benefits.

This, and other factors, contributes to enrollment pressures for colleges and universities. A natural reaction for institutions would be to address tuition affordability. But there’s a risk of overly focusing on tuition when, in reality, the issue of affordability is a multi-faceted one — especially for adult learners.

The tuition bill captures only one part of what students must pay when they enroll in a degree program. For adult learners in particular, other costs include lost wages from reduced work hours, managing childcare or elder care, potential relocation or housing expenses, transportation, opportunities lost at work due to conflicts with coursework and rigid course schedules that can force students to stay enrolled longer than a program’s curriculum technically requires.

Due to these hidden costs, a program can look affordable on paper but still be financially and pragmatically out of reach for many students.

Flexibility is often treated as a matter of scheduling and access, but it impacts affordability as well. Program structure can impact wages, relocation, housing, commuting, childcare or elder care and invisible costs such as meals and parking.

Transportation is a good example. A 2023 report from the Trellis Company found that transportation accounted for almost 20 percent of the cost of attending college for commuters, and the College Board estimated an average annual transportation budget of $2,070 for students commuting to public two-year colleges.

Online options can eliminate much of that expense but are just one form of flexibility. Studies published in 2023 and 2026 found that asynchronous options help adult learners manage jobs and childcare, alleviate time-related stress and reduce dropout intentions resulting from time constraints.

Part-time options can also allow adult learners to continue working full-time . Letting students start programs at multiple points throughout the year, instead of just in the spring and fall, can reduce long waiting periods before starting a program. It is also not uncommon for students to have to interrupt their education due to life circumstances. Letting them pause their courses and return when they’re able can prevent temporary disruptions from becoming permanent withdrawals.

Another reason why higher education can feel so unaffordable for many is the traditional all-or-nothing model which provides little value unless the degree program is fully completed. From the perspective of adult learners, this is a considerable risk in terms of the time and money invested. Stackable credentials and certificates at key milestones can reduce that risk, and research has linked these pathways to higher rates of reenrollment and additional credential attainment .

The answer is not unlimited course structures, scheduling and credential pathways. Just as limited options create barriers, too many options without enough structure can create confusion, extend completion time and increase costs.

Adding stackable credentials into a program must be done in ways that allow those credits to satisfy requirements for the degree a student eventually wants to earn. If, for example, only six of the credits in a 12-credit certificate apply to a student’s degree program, the student ends up having to take more courses than if they had simply pursued the degree directly from the outset.

Clear, structured and predictable pathways are needed. And institutions should communicate key information for every credential and degree: required courses, course sequencing, when courses will be offered, expected time to completion, total likely cost and what options may be available in the event students need to pause their study.

Institutions cannot eliminate every financial pressure that students face. However, they can reduce the unnecessary financial risks, uncertainties and stress caused by overly limited options, rigid schedules, all-or-nothing degree structures or confusing credential pathways. The institutions that respond most effectively to the affordability crisis in higher education will be the ones that treat affordability as not just a question of tuition and fees, but of program design as well.

By combining meaningful flexibility with clear, structured pathways toward credentials and degrees, institutions can give students a more realistic opportunity to pursue the higher education that they continue to believe can enhance their lives.

Evan Kropp, Ph.D. is the executive director of Distance Education at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications .