California public colleges have had free tuition for
in state students since Governement Reagan(?)
made it so in the 1960s. But their "fees" are
comparable to other state's tuitions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/education/04fees.html

As Support Lags, Colleges Tack on Student Fees
By Jonathan D. Glater
New York Times September 4, 2007
"College administrators say public universities are increasingly
tacking on fees for the same reasons that some are experimenting with
differential tuition for different majors: state support for higher
education has languished, and legislatures shy away from approving
tuition increases. Fees can often be set by individual campuses.

At just over half the nation's four-year public colleges, fees rose
faster than tuition in the 2005-6 school year and the previous year,
according to the College Board, which tracks trends in college costs.
Over all, in 2005-6 - the most current year for which there is
available data - fees rose by an average of 8 percent to 11 percent at
public four-year institutions, well above the rate of inflation."

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If fees can rise arbitrarily faster than tuition, that may nullify the
"hedging" benefit of pre-paid college tuition plans and make 529 plans
more attractive by comparison.

In general I think higher education is a ripe target for cost cutting,
because it has been insulated from marketplace pressures and
subsidized by the government for too long.

Richard Vedder has a good blog on college affordability at
http://collegeaffordability.blogspot.com/ .