“@blue85 With the tuition went up more than double in 10 years, that 85% increase in aid does not seem helpful.”
I’ll take you at your word: you are saying that increased aid is not helpful, so I can only assume that you think a number closer to zero would be more helpful than a number further away from zero. I categorically disagree with your conclusion: I think the increase in aid was enormously helpful.
As to the tuition doubling, we both know the causation: 1) student aid from the state has declined at a compound rate of 3%/year; 2) inflation has grown roughly 3.25%/year-compound; 3) the decrease in state aid and the increase in inflation almost perfectly explain the increase in tuition.
I am happy to see the aid number grow from $99MM/year to $180MM/year in just a handful of years. If you think that is trivial I suggest you canvas the recipients or better yet, write your own check.
As to the increase, the point is that the funding available to generate aid has jumped, and the amount raised in the current capital campaign is huge and will be added to an already huge pot – so you are completely ignoring that aspect of my post. To characterize an order of $2.7Bln fund (at campaign conclusion) to generate aid as not helpful is risible in the extreme.