LOS ANGELES — The rise in tuition at public colleges slowed this year to the smallest increase in more than three decades, although financial aid has not kept pace, according to a College Board study released Wednesday.
At public four-year colleges and universities across the country, the average price for tuition and fees rose 2.9 percent this year — the smallest annual rise in 38 years — to $8,893 for in-state students, the report said. Room and board adds about $9,500.
However, analysts urged students and families to pay closer attention to what they described as the more important figure: the net average cost after grants, tax credits and deductions. That was $3,120, up from $3,050 last year, for average net tuition and fees at four-year public colleges.
“It does seem that the spiral is moderating — not turning around, not ending, but moderating,” said Sandy Baum, a co-author of the College Board study and research professor at George Washington University. Baum said that the relatively small increase, while still above the general 2 percent inflation, was good news and that she hoped it will encourage more students to enroll.
In Colorado, most students at major universities didn’t fare as well. Colorado State University’s Fort Collins campus saw a 9 percent increase, and the University of Colorado at Boulder increased tuition by 8.7 percent.
At private nonprofit colleges, tuition and fees was up 3.8 percent, to $30,094. That was a bit less than the rise of at least 4 percent in each of the previous three years.
Both public and private colleges have faced more pressure from the public and federal government to keep costs down, said economist Jennifer Ma, a co-author of the report.
According to the report, 57 percent of graduates of public four-year colleges in 2011-12 had school debt, with the average at $25,000. That amount is 22 percent higher than the load carried by graduates a decade ago.
