Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report

A handful of colleges and universities are trying to address what has become — along with food — the fastest-growing cost of college: student housing.

Admissions offices are trying everything from entrepreneurship programs to hunting classes.

Helping their communities is one way for colleges and universities to counteract crashing public confidence in higher education, advocates say — a problem that has been worsened by political attacks and self-destructive missteps by even the most elite universities.

As states grapple with aging populations and worker shortages, some lawmakers are hoping to entice recent college graduates to stay by helping them pay off their student loans. Vermont recently launched a program that would give recent grads $5,000 to stay and work in state for two years.