How Much Does College Really Cost? — from chronicle.com by Phillip Levine
The opacity of pricing hurts students — and institutions.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Many institutions have reported average statistics on their own web pages for quite some time to no avail — students do not believe average statistics. What they want to know is how much is this college going to cost me?

Real affordability is sacrificed in the name of perceived affordability at these institutions.

A college education is an investment that generates substantial returns. It does not need to be free. It just needs to be affordable — and not just for the rich, but for everyone.

Also relevant/see:

My in Tuition dot com -- a quick college cost estimator