New UW–Madison study finds college affordability policies can have unintended consequencesBy Katie Grant, Office of Research & Scholarship CommunicationsAs concerns about rising college costs continue to drive higher education policy discussions, a new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education researcher Taylor Odle suggests that policies designed to limit tuition increases may not always achieve their intended results. Otero and Odle have published new findings that underscore the complexity of designing policies for college tuition. “Institutions want to keep prices low so that students avoid sticker shock, and policymakers want to keep higher education broadly accessible. Higher education in Wisconsin would look radically different, for the better, with this more measured, evidence-driven approach.” Otero is a PhD student in the Urban Education Policy program and a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California.