Wow, that's really great rughster! Congratulations!
Al, textbooks and tuition are the bulk of what college students need. And those things are not influenced by the economy. Tuition is decided by the government (in cases of the big state universities), or in cases of smaller colleges by the people who run the college. Textbook prices have always been highway robbery, regardless of whether the economy has been good or bad.
Then there's housing. If its on campus housing, the college decides how much to charge, another decision independent of the economy.
Trust me Al, I've been around the block a time or two.