Trends in College Pricing, 2011. Trends in Higher Education Series
Author: Baum, Sandy
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Student Financial Aid,Open Enrollment,Tuition,Educational Finance,Public Colleges,Private Colleges,Fees,Trend Analysis,Economic Factors,State Aid,Financial Support,Undergraduate Students,Income,Two Year Colleges,Costs,Paying for College,Geographic Location,Donors,Enrollment Trends,Student Mobility,Graduation Rate

The published prices on which the analysis in &quot;Trends in College Pricing&quot; is based come from data reported by institutions on the College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges. This survey, which is distributed to nearly 4,000 postsecondary institutions across the country, collects a wealth of data on enrollment, admission, degrees and majors, tuition, financial aid, and other aspects of undergraduate education. &quot;Trends in College Pricing 2011&quot; presents detailed data on public two-year and four-year and private nonprofit four-year institutions for the 2011-12 academic year. Increases in college prices for the 2011-12 academic year reflect the influence of a weak economy and state funding that has not kept up with the growth in college enrollments. For the fifth consecutive year, the percentage increase in average tuition and fees at public four-year institutions was higher than the percentage increase at private nonprofit institutions. Substantial variation across states in pricing patterns makes national averages particularly difficult to interpret this year. California's 2011-12 tuition and fee increases of 21% at public four-year universities and 37% at public two-year colleges raised the national averages markedly. The increase for the public four-year sector was 7.0% excluding California, and 8.3% including it. The increase for public two-year institutions was 7.4% excluding California, and 8.7% including it. Half of all full-time students at public and private nonprofit four-year colleges attend institutions charging tuition and fees of $9,936 or less, and half attend institutions with published prices of $9,936 or more. In 2011-12, full-time undergraduates receive an estimated average of about $5,750 in grant aid from all sources and federal tax benefits at public four-year institutions, $15,530 at private nonprofit four-year institutions, and $3,770 at public two-year colleges. In 2010, average income was lower at all levels of the income distribution than it had been a decade earlier. Declines ranged from 16% in inflation-adjusted dollars for the bottom 20% of families, and 11% for the top 5%, to 3% for families in the 60th to 80th percentiles. State appropriations per full-time equivalent (FTE) student declined by 9% in constant dollars in 2008-09, by another 6% in 2009-10, and by 4% in 2010-11. In 2008, only 2.2% of four-year degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S. (53 out of 2,401) accepted less than 25% of their applicants. Almost half of all four-year degree-granting institutions (1,144 out of 2,401) were open admission or accepted at least 75% of their applicants. (Contains 35 figures and 2 tables.) [This paper was written with the assistance from Michael Hurwitz, Kathleen Little, Kathleen Payea, and Anne Sturtevant. For related reports, see &quot;Education Pays, 2010: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society. Trends in Higher Education Series&quot; (ED526357) and &quot;Trends in Student Aid, 2011. Trends in Higher Education Series&quot; (ED526356).]