"Cost­-sharing" refers to the principle that a variety of sources contribute to the cost of higher education. This study utilizes university-­level data from the United States to explore the increasing shift of cost burdens from governments to students. Panel regression results suggest that the share of expenditures drawn from tuition increases as a college or university draws a larger share of its total enrolment from low-­income households. This, along with other findings, raises troubling questions of equity by suggesting that the burdens of heightened tuition reliance fall upon those who are least able to bear them.