By Maria Carter
Kansas City, MO – Rising tuition rates at public universities in Missouri could hurt the state's economy. That's according to state auditor Claire McCaskill. KCUR's Maria Carter reports.
- - - - -
A recent report by State Auditor Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, finds Missouri's tuition rates rose faster than inflation, shooting up 27 percent over the past three years. Tuition at the state's universities is the highest in the Big 12 Conference with a yearly price tag of 58-hundered dollars. McCaskill, who's also candidate for U-S Senate, says state and federal funding cuts are responsible for the rising cost of a college education.
Claire McCaskill: This report merely points out that this imbalance is a problem and that kids are going to have difficulty affording college. And that the debt level they're going to be facing when they graduate from college will eventually have a dramatic effect on our economy.
Governor Matt Blunt's office says the slash in state funding occurred under the previous administration of Democrat Bob Holden. A Missouri Senate committee is studying college costs and is expected to make recommendations by January.