Tuition and fees soaring at colleges across nation

WASHINGTON — Average tuition and fees are now $7,020 for public four-year colleges and $26,273 for private colleges, the College Board reported Tuesday, with prices increasing more rapidly in the public sector.

Colleges and universities have not slashed sticker prices in response to the economic downturn. On the contrary, tuition and fees increased 6.5 percent at public four-year colleges compared with the 2008-09 school year and 4.4 percent at private, nonprofit, four-year institutions.

The price increases came despite painful cost-cutting by colleges on everything from faculty to cafeterias and sports travel. And, as usual, the rise in tuition outstripped the overall inflation rate. In fact, consumer prices during the period covered by the report declined 2.1 percent. So the latest tuition increase at public colleges was closer to 9 percent in real terms.

Those were far steeper rates of increase than in previous years, after adjusting for inflation.

"It's only natural for parents to question why colleges are raising their prices yet again, while the rest of our economy is inflation-free," said James Boyle, president of the group College Parents of America.

While some states have held the line — Maryland and Missouri froze tuition — students in Washington and a handful of other states have been hit by double-digit increases.

Washington state lawmakers this year authorized a 30 percent tuition increase over two years for public colleges and universities to help offset higher-education cuts made to help fill a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

Tuition and fees are $7,692 at the University of Washington's main campus, where tuition increased 14 percent this year. At Washington State University, where mandatory fees are higher, a 14 percent tuition increase boosted the total cost to $8,488. Tuition at Seattle University this academic year is $29,340, up 3.8 percent from 2008-09. Fees at Seattle U. are broken out separately and vary.

The good news: Most students do not pay full price. Students at private colleges received $14,400 in grant aid and tax benefits this year, on average, leaving about $11,900 in tuition and fees to be paid out of pocket. Public students reaped about $5,400 in grant aid, on average, leaving a net cost of about $1,600.

Still, this year's increases were bad news for the estimated one-third of students who must pay full price.

At Washington State University Vancouver, senior Peter Sterr said students are discovering that scholarships that once covered most or all of their bills don't go as far.

Sterr, a political-science major, wants to work in the public sector. With $35,000 in loans, however, he isn't sure he will be able to afford to take such a job.

"Any liberal-arts degree — political science, history, English, teaching — you're heading into an already depressed job market at base salaries that just don't pay enough," he said.

Higher education has taken a beating in the recession: Private nonprofit institutions have seen endowments wither; public colleges and universities have sustained reductions of 10 to 30 percent in state funding.

In this climate, higher tuition "comes as no surprise," said Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education, an association of higher-education institutions. As state budgets continue to shrink, she said, "my concern is that we may soon face a period where significant tuition increases may be necessary to counterbalance the current fiscal instability."

One College Board report, Trends in College Pricing 2009, shows tuition and fees are increasing across the board in higher education. Total charges, including room and board, reached a stomach-churning $35,636 this year at the average private college and $15,213 at the average public institution.

A second College Board report, Trends in Student Aid 2009, shows financial assistance is increasing at a similar clip, creating a widening gap between the published price of college and the amount students are expected to pay.

The report found that public four-year colleges awarded about two-thirds of their grant for academic merit, rather than financial need. That suggests colleges are focusing more on the academic pedigree of students and less on access for those from low-income families.

Lauren Asher, of the Institute for College Access & Success in Berkeley, Calif., said it was "particularly disturbing that public colleges are using such a large share of their financial-aid resources for so-called 'merit aid' in these tough times."

Compiled from The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Seattle Times higher-education reporter Nick Perry