Tuition and Fees in Public Higher Education in the West, 2014-2015. Detailed Tuition and Fees Tables
Author: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Date: 2014-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Higher Education,Public Colleges,Tuition,Fees,Weighted Scores,Full Time Equivalency,Enrollment Trends,Economic Climate,In State Students,Out of State Students,Foreign Countries

This annual report updates the tuition and fee prices published by all of the public higher education institutions in the WICHE member states. It is the product of an annual survey administered to the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) offices in each state, except for states such as Arizona, Idaho and South Dakota, where the data for the two-year colleges and technical institutes were provided by individual institutions. The State Notes section summarizes additional interpretative information provided for selected states and institutions. This report presents published tuition and fees amounts as averages both unweighted and weighted by full-time equivalent enrollments. Unlike unweighted averages, which treat each institution equally no matter how big or small it is, enrollment-weighted averages provide a truer estimate of the published price a typical student faces based on enrollment patterns. Unweighted average tuition and fees for resident undergraduates in 2014-15 at public four-year institutions in the WICHE region were $7,872, an increase over the previous year of $180 (2.3 percent). After adjusting for inflation, the change in average resident undergraduate tuition in the region was 0.4 percent over 2013-14. Tuition and fees for resident in-district students at public two-year colleges in the WICHE states, excluding California, averaged $3,492 in 2014-15, an increase of $67 (2.0 percent), effectively no increase after adjusting for inflation. Non-resident undergraduates at public four-year institutions in the region faced an unweighted average published price of $20,316 in 2014-15, an increase over the previous year of $551 (2.8 percent). After adjusting for inflation, the change in average non-resident undergraduate tuition in the region was 0.8 percent over 2013-14. Nonresident students at public two-year colleges in the WICHE states averaged $8,171 for tuition and fees in 2014-15, an increase of $243 (3.1 percent), and a 1.1 percent increase after adjusting for inflation. Tuition and fees for resident graduates in 2014-15 at public four-year institutions averaged $9,537, an increase over the previous year of $237 (2.5 percent). After adjusting for inflation, the change in average resident graduate tuition in the region was 0.6 percent over the 2013-14 school year. Unweighted average tuition and fees for nonresident graduate students in 2014-15 at public four-year institutions in the region were $21,263, an increase over the previous year of $610 (3.0 percent). After adjusting for inflation, the change in average non-resident graduate tuition in the region was 1.0 percent over 2013-14. Overall, the average percent changes in tuition and fees for four-year and two-year institutions were approximately the same when weighted by enrollment, with some minor variation. The following are appended: (1) The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 2010; (2) Number of Public Four-Year Institutions by Carnegie Classification in the WICHE Region, 2014-15; (3) Number of Public Two-Year Institutions by State in the WICHE Region, 2014-15; (4) Procedure for Converting Current Dollars to Constant Dollars; (5) Methodology; (6) Survey Instructions; (7) Mandatory Fees at Public Two-Year Institutions in the WICHE Region; (8) Mandatory Fees at Public Four-Year Institutions in the WICHE Region; (9) Undergraduate FTE for Four-Year Institutions in the WICHE Region; (10) Graduate FTE for Four-Year Institutions in the WICHE Region; and (11) Undergraduate FTE for Two-Year Institutions in the WICHE Region.