The value of a private education, of course, extends far beyond the financial investment families make and even beyond our graduates' career success. The quality and depth of the relationships among students, faculty, and staff at small private institutions is especially evident at commencement time.

As we begin the next phase of our national dialogue about college affordability and student financial support, we must focus on the basic criteria that a 21st century system of student financial support should meet.

Helping to pay for one's college education adds meaning to life's lessons learned and adds value and context while in higher pursuits. But it's unconscionable to think that just about the only way for someone to go to college full-time is to go into debt with student loans.

Millions of high school students have now received college acceptance letters. Many middle class Americans will also learn how much financial aid they will receive from these institutions and what they will need to borrow to make up the difference.

What's a college education worth these days? Amid rising costs of tuition and an economy still rebounding from recession, higher education consumers and observers are increasingly asking that question -- and with good reason.

America needs to take on the issue of college affordability and student debt not with a few Band-Aids, but with an aggressive, comprehensive attack that engages all of the critical players. We can't wait to do that.

Let's continue to work for increased access and affordability in higher education, but let's also treasure the diversity and variety of educational experiences available to our young people. In that manner the nation's future needs will truly be best served.

If we really want to be more accessible, more affordable, more efficient at delivering basic college education to more students, we need to ask how we can collaborate, where we can work together, and determine what we can do that is so unique to our university that it becomes our mission.

Are you a single parent, stay-at-home mom, or working adult who wants to return to school in hopes of securing a brighter financial future? The good news is that you're not alone.

Around the country, manufacturers have job openings that demand very specific skill sets. Many community colleges are now partnered with these businesses to meet their workforce needs.

NEW YORK -- Donald Farish, president of Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., always wanted higher education to become a major issue in a nation...

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday issued a challenge to community colleges statewide: Create bachelor's degree programs that cost students $10,000 or less. ...

A heavy tuition burden, especially at public schools, means that many students who would otherwise attend college cannot because of affordability. State governments have adopted the wrong attitude toward budget distribution.

A burgeoning movement is underway that would limit access to careers in the field. A small contingent of special interest groups is advocating that certain hospitals restrict employment only to those with bachelor's degrees in nursing (BSN).

Young people are at a critical juncture. If we invest in them, we secure their future as well as our own. Once more fully supported, investment in education has now sailed into the troubled waters of contemporary politics.

If a college degree is still the gateway to the middle class, we will all have to be innovative and intentional to ensure that the gate is not locked for many. Reducing tuition is one of the ways to ensure that the dream of a college education is a reality.

These cuts, along with a doubling of the Stafford Loan interest rate and an ending of loan interest subsidies for enrolled students, threaten to significantly alter the social mobility of an entire generation.

Now competition can be a good thing when it forces greater efficiencies and drives costs down, but in academia exactly the reverse seems to be happening.

There is no better way to alienate a massive swath of American citizenry than to cut funding for loans and grants to students seeking to enroll in higher education and in need of economic support to do so.

Though I complain about late nights in the library or having to write difficult papers, I remember that I am one of the few that made it out of this cycle. Education is the key to achieving one's dreams, but at what price?

Everyone's looking for a great deal nowadays -- something that's worth their hard-earned cash -- and a college degree is no different.