Cost of college rises faster than inflation, student aid

The price of college again rose faster than the inflation rate this year, climbing 6.6 percent at four-year public schools and outstripping increases in the financial aid that lowers what most students actually pay.

The latest increases, reported Monday by the College Board, bring the average list price of four-year public universities to $6,185 this year, up $381 from 2006-2007.

At four-year private colleges, tuition and fees rose 6.3 percent to $23,712.

In June, University of Washington regents approved a 7 percent tuition increase for resident undergraduates, bringing total tuition and fees to $6,382 at UW Seattle.

Public two-year colleges — which educate about half of American college students — again got the best marks for keeping a lid on increases. Their average price rose 4.2 percent to $2,361. Accounting for aid, their average net cost is only $320 per year.

"For too long, parents have grimaced and borne the high price of college because they presumed that a higher education is key to their child's success in today's economy," said James Boyle, president of College Parents of America, in a statement on the report.

"Surely, the day will come — soon — when parents say enough is enough."

The published price is not the real price for many students, thanks to financial aid, but the net price is rising, too.

On average, accounting for grants and tax breaks, the net price for full-time students at four-year public universities is $2,580. That's about $160 more than last year.

At private colleges, net cost this year averages $14,400 — up $638 from a year ago.

To make up the difference, students typically borrow as much as allowed from the federal government but then turn to private student loans.

A decade ago, nonfederal loans accounted for about 6 percent of student aid, but last year they were 24 percent.

The rate of growth in private borrowing slowed last year, partly because of new rules allowing graduate students to take out PLUS loans from the federal government.

For undergraduates, private borrowing still rose 12 percent to $14.5 billion.

Including room and board for students living on campus, charges for public four-year colleges were $13,589, 5.9 percent higher than last year.

At private four-year schools, average total charges come to $32,307.

George Washington University in Washington, D.C., recently attracted attention for becoming the first major university with a published price, including room and board, of more than $50,000.

The percentage of students who pay such large sums is fairly small. Fewer than 10 percent of students even attend colleges with tuition and fees higher than $30,000, according to the College Board, and many of them get aid.

About 56 percent of students at four-year colleges attend schools under $10,000, and about one-third attend schools charging under $6,000.

The College Board's report does not try to explain why prices keep going up, though Sandy Baum, an economist with the group and at Skidmore College, points out that because of rising demand for higher education, rising state appropriations have not translated into more money spent on each student.

The report comes as Congress is in the early stages of considering a proposal that could require some colleges with large endowments to spend more of their savings to keep tuition down.

Colleges say that wouldn't solve the underlying economic issues for the price increases.

For the first time, the College Board report includes the rapidly growing sector of for-profit education, which now caters to about 8 percent of students. Their average prices are also rising rapidly — to $12,089, up 6.2 percent from last year.

Peter McPherson, head of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, said that "leaders of America's public research universities continue to be concerned about the impact that the cost of attending colleges has on students and their families."

But, he said, the average net price of $2,600 at four-year schools is still "excellent value."

That contention is supported in a recent paper by Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the financial aid Web site finaid.org.

He tried to estimate how much a four-year college degree would have to cost before it would no longer be a good investment, given the $1.2 million increase in expected lifetime earnings that comes with a bachelor's degree.

His answer: about $520,000 — or $130,000 a year.