Louisiana's publicly funded colleges and universities are no longer as affordable as they once were after years of diminishing state funding and skyrocketing tuition and fees, an audit from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's office shows. As the state government has lowered its level of monetary support for higher education institutions, the financial burden has fallen on the shoulders of the state's in-state students and parents, the audit found. The audit, released March 29, was sent to legislative leaders and the leadership from the state's college and university systems. "Overall, we found that decreased direct state support per student — which includes state general fund money, statutory dedications, and interagency transfers — and subsequent fee increases over the past 10 years have made it more costly to earn a public higher education degree or other credential in Louisiana."