Minnesota colleges fail affordability test

A national report card released Wednesday gives Minnesota a failing grade for college affordability.

The National Center for Pubic Policy and Higher Education gives 49 states, including Minnesota, an "F" for tuition affordability in its 2008 report card on higher education.

Will Doyle, a consultant on the report, said tuition costs in recent years have outpaced increases in financial aid and family income.

"If families were making a lot more, they'd be able to pay these increasing costs pretty easily, but particularly for middle and lower income families, they're not making that much more so it's become much more difficult for them to pay."

Minnesota's higher education officials say they're doing their best to hold down the cost of college as state aid for higher education has shrunk.

The national report gives the state better grades in other areas. Minnesota gets an "A" for the number of students who complete college. And "Bs" for providing college opportunities to residents and preparing students for college.

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