LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A new report on several public higher education institutions across the country reveals that some colleges are outspending their budgets and passing the buck to the students via higher tuition. 

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which examined 50 flagship institutions across the U.S. – which were typically the oldest public school in the state – and compiled financial records before adjusting for inflation. Several institutions including: University of Connecticut, the University of Kentucky, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Hawaii are spending outside their means according to the research. 

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“The median flagship received more than double the revenue from undergraduate and graduate tuition and fees it did 20 years prior. Even accounting for enrollment gains, that amounted to a 64% price increase for the average student, far outpacing the growth in most big household expenses,” according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Data from the research indicated that the Universities of Kentucky and Connecticut were above the median in terms of percent change in spending and enrollment between 2002 and 2022, while Penn State, and the Universities of Oklahoma and Hawaii were under it. 

The universities in the study also more than doubled tuition and fee revenue compared to the state support to the universities. 

“For every $1 lost in state support at those universities over the two decades, the median school increased tuition and fee revenue by nearly $2.40, more than covering the cuts,” the Wall Street Journal reported.