My take. I think the main reason for increasing costs is loans. Loans that cannot be escaped through bankruptcy. Colleges can raise tuition at rates much faster than inflation because everyone has access to unlimited student loan money. They name a price, all students can access money to pay it.
One way to bring prices down is to allow prices to grow so high that people balk. Even when provided access to unlimited loan money to pay it. Waiting for this to happen doesn't require any special activism or groups though. But it might just be the actual way it plays out. A natural bubble pop.
If you don't want to sit on the sidelines and wait for things to pop naturally, you could raise awareness about loans. Try to make people balk at the prices sooner? Or try to promote a change in the law allowing bankruptcy to be an escape from loans. Once bankruptcy is introduced you will see access to money plummet sharply and college tuition prices along with it.
The longer this goes on, the more people unwittingly commit themselves into life long indentured servitude.
TOO LONG DIDN'T READ: I don't think you will successfully leverage your skills as a programmer to reduce college tuition costs. Even if you optimize a piece of the puzzle (online MOOC reducing the need for staff/land/buildings)