MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - In the past ten years, the state has gone from covering 55% of Tennessee's public college and university budgets, to just 30%. The other 70% is covered by the students.
The state's HOPE scholarship for high achievers used to cover about 60% of university tuition. It's 45% now.
All that means students are taking out bigger and bigger loans.
It's a situation that Richard Vedder, who heads the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, says is unsustainable, according to The Tennessean.
State officials are trying to find solutions. They include eliminating programs that don't generate enough state funding, making sure credits transfer between schools and graduating students as quickly as possible.
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