Colleges are putting the brakes on hefty price increases, but tuition and fees are still rising at a faster rate than the financial aid and family income needed to cover costs, according to two reports released on Wednesday by the College Board.
“Despite the moderate increases in average published prices, there were considerable increases in net tuition and fees over the past few years,” said Jennifer Ma, policy research scientist at the College Board and co-author of the reports. “These increases, combined with stagnant incomes for many families, raise concerns about ensuring educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income students.”
Sticker price increases have hovered around 3 percent for the last three years, the reports showed, keeping in line with historical trends and the reversal of the soaring costs that marked the recession. But net prices for a college education are rising.
Published tuition and fees for four-year public colleges and universities this fall average $9,650 for in-state students, a 2.4 percent annual increase after inflation. After taking grants, scholarships and tax credits into account, tuition and fees for local students at public universities average about $3,770. That so-called net price, though, climbs to an average $14,210 when room and board are added. Net prices continue to grow because sticker price increases have surpassed the grant aid that students receive.
Meanwhile at private, nonprofit colleges, average net tuition and fees this fall was $14,220, up from an inflation-adjusted $13,340 last year. Including room and board, the net price rose from $24,980 to $26,100. Published tuition and fees at private schools crept up 3.6 percent, to $33,480 after inflation.
Wages are trending up, but not enough to keep pace with the cost of college. Median family income grew at an average rate of 0.4 percent a year after inflation between 2005 and 2015, while incomes rose 0.8 percent between 1996 and 2006, according to the report.
The positive news is that families are taking on less debt to cover the cost of higher education as the economy improves. Students and parents borrowed $106 billion in 2015-16 to pay for college, down 14 percent from the peak of $124 billion in 2010-2011. Undergraduates last year borrowed 18 percent less than in 2010-2011.
Grants constituted 55 percent of the funds used by undergraduates in 2015-2016, the highest level in recent years, according to the report.