College Board: Tuition Prices Increase More Rapidly, Student Borrowing Slows

In its report “Trends in College Pricing 2007,” the College Board finds that increases in published prices for two- and four-year public postsecondary institutions were slightly larger for 2007-2008 than for 2006, but lower than the average increases over the past five years. Prices for four-year private colleges and universities increased at a rate similar to the previous years but higher than the average during the past five years.

The report lists specific tuition and fee increases as follows:

• Public four-year colleges and universities, for residents, $6,185, up 6.6 percent from the previous year.
• Public four-year colleges and universities, for nonresidents, $16,640, up 5.5 percent.
• Private four-year colleges and universities, $23,712, up 6.3 percent.
• Public two-year colleges and universities, $2,361, up 4.2 percent.
• For-profit institutions, $12,089, up 6.2 percent.

A companion report, “Trends in Student Aid,” discloses that more than $130 billion in financial aid was distributed to students during the 2006-2007 academic year through grants, loans, work-study and tax benefits.

Stafford-loan volume did not keep pace with inflation during the past two academic years, but student borrowing of new Grad PLUS and private loans increased, according to the report. Stafford-loans borrowed through the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program declined by $1 billion in 2006 dollars during the past 10 years, while Stafford-loan borrowing through the Federal Family Education Loan Program increased by $17 billion during the same period.

The report highlights the significant increase in borrowing through non-federal-loan programs. Private loans made up 24 percent of total education loans in 2006-2007, up from 6 percent a decade ago.

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