All across the country, student enrollment in two-year colleges is on the rise. States are reporting increases in community and technical college enrollments of upwards of 20% over last year, with one Idaho school more than doubling its enrollment since last spring. The reason isn’t hard to figure out: the recession.

Thanks to the struggles of the current economy, college students are increasingly choosing the cheaper alternative of two-year schools. Even students who want to pursue a Bachelor’s degree can save a significant amount of money — anywhere from $4,000 to $40,000 a year — by studying at a community college for the first two years of their post-secondary education and then transferring. (more…)

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education‘s annual National Report Card on Higher Education came out this week, and EVERY SINGLE STATE in the US earned a resounding “F” when it came to affordability (i.e., how hard it is to pay for college, taking into account tuition, financial aid and family income). Every state, that is, except California, which earned a shining C- due to its unusually low-cost community colleges. Congratulations, you’re slightly below par!

Particularly telling is the report’s chart (left) of college tuition growth as compared to other major expenses since 1982-84. Not only has it increased by more than four times the rate of the Consumer Price Index during that time, but its pace is more than that of food, housing and transportation COMBINED. Only health care comes relatively close to the meteoric rise in college costs, and even that is just a bit more than half the rate of tuition.

Just eight years ago, 46 states passed the affordability test, meaning that only — no wait, don’t tell me, 7 5 4 states flunked. See what education can do for you?