It’s a kick in the gut, even for students and families hardened to bad financial news: Average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose another $631 this fall, or 8.3 percent, compared with a year ago.
Nationally, the cost of a full credit load has passed $8,000, an all-time high.
Throw in room and board, and the average list price for a state school now runs more than $17,000 a year, according to two annual reports on college costs and student aid published today by the not-for-profit education group the College Board.
Helping drive up the national numbers were huge tuition increases at public universities in California, which enrolls 10 percent of public four-year college students and whose 21 percent tuition increase this year was the largest of any state.
Even without California, however, prices would have increased 7 percent on average nationally — an exceptional burden at a time of high unemployment and stagnant family incomes.
A large increase in federal grants and tax credits for students, on top of stimulus dollars that prevented greater state cuts, helped keep average tuition and fees that families actually pay much lower: about $2,490, or just $170 more than five years ago.
But the days of states and families relying on budget relief from Washington appear numbered. And some argue that while Washington’s largesse may have helped some students, it did little to hold down prices.
“The states cut budgets, the price goes up, and the (federal) money goes to that,” said Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. “For 25 years, we’ve been putting more and more money into financial aid, and tuition keeps going up. We’re on a national treadmill.”
Terry Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, which represents colleges in Washington, said the cause of the price increases for the 80 percent of college students who attend public institutions is clear. State appropriations for higher education declined 18 percent per student over the past three years, the College Board found, the sharpest fall on record.
“To see increases of 20 percent, as we saw in California, to see gains of 15 percent in other states, is simply unprecedented,” Hartle said. “Tuition is simply being used as a revenue substitute in many states.”
The latest report comes with concerns about student debt front and center among many of the Occupy Wall Street protesters. And President Barack Obama was expected today to announce a new loan-consolidation program, plus measures to encourage more borrowers to use the government’s new income- based repayment option that caps monthly payments.
The College Board reports that roughly 56 percent of 2009-10 bachelor’s-degree recipients at four-year public colleges graduated with debt, averaging about $22,000. At private nonprofit universities, the figures were higher — 65 percent and about $28,000.
“Psychologically, practically, it’s a big number, and it will inform important choices, like when and whether you buy a home, start a family, save for retirement or take the risk of starting a new business,” said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access and Success.
Asher and other experts emphasize that the types of loans students take out can be as important as the amount. In general, a college degree remains a good investment.
Other slivers of what passes for good news: While several states had double-digit percentage increases in tuition and fees, there were wide variations, and Connecticut and South Carolina held under 3 percent. Roughly half the students enrolled in nonprofit colleges attend institutions charging under $10,000, and fewer than 1 in 10 attend institutions listing prices over $36,000.
Meanwhile, community colleges and private four-year colleges reported lower tuition inflation than public universities.
At nonprofit private four-year colleges, tuition and fees were up 4.5 percent to $28,500. Factoring in aid, the average total net cost, including room and board, was about $22,970 — lower than five years ago. At community colleges, where list prices rose 8.7 percent nationally to just under $3,000, net costs also are lower than five years ago, and aid generally covers the whole price.
Still, while net costs are important to note, they don’t tell the whole story. They don’t cover living costs, which for many students are a higher obstacle than tuition, especially if they can’t work as much while enrolled. And the aid dollars that help to lower the average net price don’t always go to the neediest students.
