Highlights

Published Tuition and Fee and Room
and Board Charges

Published tuition and fees constitute 67% of the total budget for students enrolled in private four-year colleges, but only 36% for in-state students in public four-year colleges and 17% for public two-year college students.

Average published tuition and fees for in-state students at public four-year colleges and universities in 2008-09 are $6,585, $394 (6.4%) higher than in 2007-08. Average total charges, including tuition and fees and room and board, are $14,333, 5.7% higher than a year earlier.
Average published tuition and fees for out-of-state students at public four-year institutions in 2008-09 are $17,452, $866 (5.2%) higher than in 2007-08. Average total charges are $25,200, up 5.2%.
Average published tuition and fees at public two-year colleges in 2008-09 are $2,402, $108 (4.7%) higher than in 2007-08.
Average published tuition and fees at private four-year colleges and universities in 2008-09 are $25,143, $1,398 (5.9%) higher than in 2007-08. Average total charges are $34,132, 5.6% higher than a year earlier.
Estimated average tuition and fees at for-profit institutions in 2008-09 are $13,046, $557 (4.5%) higher than in 2007-08.
The Consumer Price Index increased by 5.6% between July 2007 and July 2008, so tuition and fees at public two-year colleges, at for-profit institutions, and for out-of-state students at public four-year institutions declined in constant dollars. Tuition and fees at private four-year institutions and for in-state students at public institutions are 0.3% and 0.7% higher, respectively.

Variation in Tuition and Fees

Average charges do not describe the circumstances of most college students. In addition to the fact that, as described below, many students pay less than the published price, there is considerable variation across institutions, even within sectors.

In both the public and private sectors, undergraduate tuition and fees are highest at doctorate-granting universities. In 2008-09, average published tuition and fees for in-state students at public doctorate-granting universities are $7,307, compared to $5,707 at public master’s universities and $5,604 at public baccalaureate colleges.
Twenty-nine percent of full-time undergraduates in four-year colleges and universities are enrolled in institutions with published tuition and fee charges of less than $6,000; 19% are enrolled in institutions with published charges of $24,000 or higher.
Average in-state public four-year tuition and fees range from $5,412 in the South to $8,602 in New England. The lowest-priced colleges are public two-year colleges in the West, with average tuition and fees of $1,292; the highest-priced colleges are private four-year colleges in New England, with average tuition and fees of $31,680.
Sixteen percent of full-time students in public four-year institutions faced tuition and fee increases of less than 3% in 2008-09; 23% faced increases of 9% or more.

Long-Run Trends

Prices of public four-year colleges and universities rose somewhat more rapidly between 1998-99 and 2008-09 than in the preceding decade, but private four-year and public two-year prices rose more slowly than they had either from 1978-79 to 1988-89 or from 1988-89 to 1998-99.

Over the past decade, published tuition and fees have risen at an average rate of 2.4% per year after inflation at private four-year colleges, compared to 2.9% in the preceding decade and 4.1% from 1978-79 to 1988-89.
Over the past decade, published tuition and fees have risen at an average rate of 4.2% per year after inflation at public four-year institutions, compared to 4.1% in the preceding decade and 2.4% from 1978-79 to 1988-89.
Over the past decade, published tuition and fees have risen at an average rate of 1.4% per year after inflation at public two-year colleges, compared to 3.5% in the preceding decade and 3.1% from 1978-79 to 1988-89.
The proportion of high school graduates enrolled in college within a year after graduation grew from 49% in 1976 to 54% in 1986 and 65% in 1996. Between 1996 and 2006, the enrollment rate grew slowly to 66%.
The proportion of all degrees that were awarded by for-profit institutions was 3% in1995-96 and 7% in 2005-06.

What Students Actually Pay

The net price of college is defined as the published price less the average grant aid and tax benefits students receive.

On average, full-time students receive about $10,200 of grants and tax benefits in private four-year institutions, $3,700 in public four-year institutions, and $2,300 in public two-year colleges.
Net price in public four-year colleges fell in constant dollars from 1993-94 to 2003-04, but has risen rapidly since.
Net price in public two-year colleges fell in constant dollars during each five-year period from 1993-94 through 2008-09.
Over the past decade, the inflation-adjusted increase in average net price at private four-year colleges was 22%, compared to a 27% increase in average published prices.
The changing distribution of income has had a significant influence on the ability of families to pay for college. Between 1977 and 2007, average family income rose 3% ($463 in constant 2007 dollars) for the poorest 20% of families, 22% ($11,275) for the middle 20%, and 86% ($146,650) for the wealthiest 5% of families.

Institutional Finances

Educational appropriations per student were $6,773 in 2006-07, 2% higher than in 1996-97, but 4% lower in constant dollars than in 1986-87.

Endowment wealth is highly concentrated among a small number of institutions in both the public and private sectors. Most of the endowment funds are held by doctorate-granting universities, rather than by master’s and baccalaureate institutions.
From 1995-96 to 2005-06, educational expenditures per student rose about 10% in constant dollars at public institutions, 50% at private doctorate-granting universities, and less than 40% at other private institutions.
At both public and private institutions, even most students who pay the published prices receive a subsidy, paying less than the full cost of their education. The largest subsidies average about $12,400 per year at private doctorate-granting institutions.