A tipping point could be reached when “it actually becomes cheaper for a nonresident student to attend a private institution.”

The Street reports.

Out-of-State Students Helping to Keep In-State College Tuition Low in the Golden State

In an effort to bolster the access of California residents to state colleges, the state Department of Education plans to increase tuition for of out-of-state residents in order to keep costs low for Californians. With these costs are factored in, California’s vaunted ten campus university system will be on a path to become the country’s most expensive public university.

A state Assembly proposal calls for a 10% cap on out-of-state enrollment, paired with tuition hikes that would push annual nonresident tuition to about $54,000 over six years, funding 30,000 new spaces for California residents by 2022. A revised budget proposal submitted by Governor Jerry Brown last month would keep tuition flat for state residents following an increase in state tax revenue. But some of that money would be needed to pay off state debt and address the growing pension liability for state university employees.