Rising tuition at public universities and community colleges drove up college costs in 2011, College Board reports in its annual trends survey. Pushed by big fee hikes in California, community college tuition rose by 8.7 percent nationally, while public universities raised tuition by 8.3 percent.
Public options remain much cheaper than private higher education: State university tuition averaged $8,244 a year, while the community college average was $3,000.
By contrast, living and studying for a year at a typical private college cost $42,224.
Despite scholarships and tax breaks, college costs are eating up a higher share of family income, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Community college students who qualify for federal grants and tax benefits typically receive slightly more aid than they pay in tuition, the report found.
Some 52 percent of public university students — and 88 percent of private college students — receive scholarships or other aid to reduce costs, College Board estimates. That cuts the average net tuition at public universities to $2,500 and net costs (including books and living expenses) to $11,400. The average net cost is $26,700 at private, residential colleges.
Unfortunately, since family incomes have been falling for the last three years, even these lower net prices are taking up a higher percentage of most families’ incomes, says Sandy Baum, an economist who is the lead author of the College Board’s report.
. . . “College is more expensive this year than last, and it is probably going to get more expensive next year,” Baum says.
California’s low-cost public universities raised in-state tuition and fees by a whopping 21 percent in 2011-12.
