The dream of college education is one of the central aspirations of American families and the cost of college is one of their central concerns. Removing College Price Barriers explores federal and state governmental efforts to achieve universal college affordability, and explains why those efforts have failed so badly.

Mumper provides a comprehensive overview of trends in college finance from 1965 to the present. He chronicles how the creation of the federal student aid programs, coupled with increasing state support of higher education, substantially lowered college price barriers during...