The enormous financial value (and cultural currency) of the product they are selling, an elite credential, is well understood. Nearly everybody admitted to these schools graduates within four years.

Workers with more education are more productive, which makes companies more profitable and the overall economy grow faster. There are also significant noneconomic benefits. Educated populations tend to be healthier, more stable and more engaged in their civic institutions and democratic debate.

Over the decade from 2001-2011, the share of expenses devoted to "student services" rose from 17 percent of the average school's budget to 20 percent

Researchers who study the question of the rapidly rising financial burden of American higher education say it's important to understand that very different forces are driving the cost of delivering that education and the price students and their families have to pay.

It was the first time since 1949 that the school, which was chartered in 1650, had boosted tuition two years in a row.

Despite the annual sticker shock, millions of American students and their families still believe it is—and many experts concur, pointing out that college graduates, on average, do still make considerably more than those with just a high school diploma.