Trends In College Pricing 2018

Average net budgets after grant aid for students from families In 2015-16, the 10% of students at the private doctoral universitiesPUBLIC FUNDINGENROLLMENT PATTERNSwith incomes below 35,000 were 27,860 in the for-profitsector and 19,960 at private nonprofit four-year institutionsin 2015-16. (Figure 12)State and local funding per student rose in 2016-17 (ininflation-adjusted dollars) for the fifth consecutive year,following four years of decline. Funding per student fell by 24%from 8,270 (in 2016 dollars) in 2006-07 to 6,320 in 2011-12,and then rose by 21% to 7,640 in 2016-17. (Figure 15B) In 2016-17, total appropriations were 2% higher (after adjustingfor inflation) than a decade earlier, but appropriations per studentwere 8% lower. Total appropriations were 38% higher than 30 yearsearlier, but appropriations per student were 11% lower. (Figure 15B) In 2016-17, state and local funding for public higher educationranged from 2,960 per full-time equivalent (FTE) student in NewHampshire and 3,020 in Vermont to 15,820 in Wyoming and 16,390 in Alaska. (Figure 16)INSTITUTIONAL FINANCESBetween 2005-06 and 2015-16, educational expenditures perFTE student at public doctoral universities increased by 17% ininflation-adjusted dollars. The increase over the decade was18% at public master’s universities, 12% at public bachelor’scolleges, and 11% in the public two-year sector. (Figure 18) Between 2005-06 and 2015-16, average educational expendituresper FTE student rose by 17% in inflation-adjusted dollars at privatenonprofit doctoral universities, 11% at private nonprofit master’sinstitutions, and 9% at bachelor’s institutions. (Figure 18) In 2015-16, 14% of educational costs at private nonprofit master’sPublic two-year colleges enrolled about 1 million fewerstudents in fall 2016 than in fall 2010 (a decline of 12%), andfor-profit institutions enrolled about 840,000 fewer students(a decline of 42%). But both sectors enrolled more studentsin 2016 than they did in 2005. The for-profit sector enrolled1.2 million students in fall 2016, compared with 450,000 in fall2000. (Figure 21) Total FTE enrollment in public colleges and universities in theUnited States increased by 11% between 2006 and 2016—from9.4 million to 10.4 million. Changes across states ranged fromdeclines of 10% in Illinois and 5% in Alaska to increases of 24%in Oregon and 25% in Texas. (Figure 22A) Overall, two-year colleges accounted for 43% of the public FTEundergraduate enrollment in 2016. In seven states, this sharewas 50% or more; in another seven states, it was less than 25%.(Figure 22B) The percentage of first-time public four-year college studentswho were residents of the states in which they were enrolleddeclined from 83% in fall 2006 to 78% in fall 2016. (Figure 23)COLLEGE AFFORDABILITYAverage published tuition and fees for in-state studentsattending public four-year colleges rose by 6,770 (in2017 dollars) between 1987-88 and 2017-18—57% of theincrease in income ( 11,840) of the middle 20% of familiesand 9% of the increase in income ( 77,650) of the 20%of families in the highest income bracket. (Page 29)institutions was a subsidy to students rather than being coveredby net tuition revenue. The subsidy share was 46% at doctoraluniversities and 39% at bachelor’s colleges in the sector. (Figure 18) In 2017, the average income for the highest 20% of familiesdeclined by 940 (15%) in 2015 dollars between 2005-06 and2010-11; it increased by 1,190 (22%) between 2010-11 and2015-16, as enrollment in the sector declined. (Figure 18) In 2017, the 119,120 median income for families headed by a The average subsidy per FTE student at public two-year colleges Between 2005-06 and 2015-16, inflation-adjusted increases innet tuition revenue per student at public four-year institutionsranged from 20% at public bachelor’s colleges to 42% at publicdoctoral universities. Because of declines in government support,total revenue from tuition and government sources increasedby 2% at both bachelor’s and doctoral institutions and by 6% atpublic master’s universities. (Figure 17) Between 2001-02 and 2016-17, average faculty salaries increasedby less than 1% (after adjusting for inflation) at public doctoraluniversities, by 5% at private nonprofit bachelor’s colleges, andby 29% at for-profit institutions. Average faculty salaries did notkeep up with inflation in other sectors. (Figure 24A)4with the highest endowments per student benefited fromendowments averaging 1.15 million per FTE student; medianendowment per FTE student in this sector was 55,200. (Figure 19)was 3.2 times as high as that for the middle 20% ( 245,040 vs. 75,840 in 2017 dollars). It was just 2.6 times as high in 1987( 167,390 vs. 64,000). (Figure 20A)four-year college graduate was more than twice the median forfamilies headed by a high school graduate. (Figure 20B) Taking longer to earn a degree increases the price of college.Students who completed bachelor’s degrees in 2014-15 wereenrolled for an average of 5.1 full-time academic years. Thosewho completed associate degrees were enrolled for an averageof 3.3 years. (Figures 13A, 13B) Tuition and fees constitute 40% of the total budget for in-statestudents living on campus at public four-year institutions and20% of the budget for public two-year college students who payfor off-campus housing. (Figure 1)

Contents3 Highlights7 Introduction9 Published Charges by SectorTABLE 1Average Published Undergraduate Charges by Sector and by Carnegie Classification,2017-18 and 2018-19FIGURE 1Average Estimated Undergraduate Budgets, 2018-19FIGURE 2Distribution of Full-Time Four-Year Undergraduates by Tuition and Fees, 2018-1912 Published Charges over TimeFIGURE 3Tuition and Fees over Time13 Published Charges over TimeFIGURE 4AAverage Rates of Growth of Published Charges by DecadeTABLE 3Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time (Unweighted)and by Carnegie Classification,2018-1910 Student Budgets, 2018-1911 Variation in Tuition and Fees,2018-19Published Tuition and Feesby Region14 Tuition and Fees by State:Public Two-YearTABLE 2FIGURE 4BPublished Tuition and Fees by Region over TimeFIGURE 52018-19 In-District Tuition and Fees at Public Two-Year Institutions by State and Five-YearPercentage ChangeTABLE 5FIGURE 616 Tuition and Fees by State:FIGURE 7Flagship UniversitiesPublished Tuition and Fees Relative to 1988-89, by SectorTABLE 415 Tuition and Fees by State:Public Four-YearTuition and Fees and Room and Board over TimeTuition and Fees by Sector and State over Time2018-19 Tuition and Fees at Public Four-Year Institutions by State and Five-YearPercentage Change2018-19 Tuition and Fees at Flagship Universities and Five-Year Percentage ChangeTABLE 6Tuition and Fees at Flagship Universities over Time17 Average Net Price:FIGURE 8Average Net Price over Time for Full-Time Students at Public Two-Year Institutions18 Average Net Price:FIGURE 9Average Net Price over Time for Full-Time Students at Public Four-Year Institutions19 Average Net Price:FIGURE 1020 Net Price by Income:FIGURE 11Average Net Price over Time for Full-Time Students at Private Nonprofit Four-YearInstitutions21 Net Price by Income:FIGURE 12Public Two-YearPublic Four-YearPrivate Nonprofit Four-YearPublic InstitutionsPrivate InstitutionsInstitutional Tuition Discountby Family Income: PublicInstitutionsInstitutional Tuition Discountby Family Income:Private Institutions22 Time to DegreeTABLE 7FIGURE 2017 11Average Net Price over Time for Full-Time Students, by SectorDistribution of Full-Time Undergraduate Students at Public Institutions by Net Tuition andFees, 2015-16Distribution of Full-Time Undergraduate Students at Private Institutions by Net Tuition andFees, 2015-16Average Net Price by Income Among Federal Student Aid Recipients, 2014-15FIGURE 2016 12Published Tuition and Fees, Institutional Discount, and Net Tuition Revenue at PublicInstitutions by Dependency Status and Family Income, Selected YearsFIGURE 2016 13Published Tuition and Fees, Institutional Discount, and Net Tuition Revenue at PrivateInstitutions by Dependency Status and Family Income, Selected YearsFIGURE 13ATotal Number of Academic Years Enrolled by Sector and Number of Institutions Attended:2014-15 Bachelor’s Degree RecipientsFIGURE 13BTotal Number of Academic Years Enrolled by Number of Institutions Attended: 2014-15Associate Degree RecipientsFigures and tables that are only available online at trends.collegeboard.org.Additional figures from the 2014 and 2015 reports are available online.5

Contents—Continued23 Living Arrangements:FIGURE 14ALiving Arrangements of Full-Time Undergraduates by Sector, 2015-1624 Institutional Revenues:FIGURE 15AAnnual Percentage Change in State and Local Funding and Public Tuition and Feesover Time25 Institutional Revenues:FIGURE 1626 Institutional Revenues:FIGURE 17Institutional Revenues per Student at Public Institutions over Time27 Institutional Revenues andFIGURE 18Net Tuition Revenues, Subsidies, and Education Expenditures per Student over Time28 EndowmentsFIGURE 19Endowment Assets per Student, 2015-16FIGURE 20BFamily Income by Selected Characteristics, 2017Undergraduate StudentsState and Local FundingState and Local FundingPublic InstitutionsExpenditures29 Family IncomeFIGURE 14BFIGURE 15BFIGURE 20ANontuition Expense Budgets by Sector and Living Arrangement, 2015-16Total and Per-Student State and Local Funding and Public Enrollment over TimeState and Local Funding per Student and per 1,000 in Personal Income by State, 2016-17Changes in Family Income over Time30 Enrollment Patterns Over TimeFIGURE 21FIGURE 22ATen-Year Percentage Change in Total Public Enrollment by State32 MigrationFIGURE 2333 Faculty and StaffFIGURE 24APercentage of First-Time Students at Public Four-Year Institutions Who Were StateResidents, Fall 2006 and Fall 201631 Public Enrollment by StateFIGURE 22BFIGURE 24BFIGURE 2017 20A34 Notes and SourcesEnrollment by Level of Enrollment and Attendance Status over TimePercentage of All Public Enrollment in Two-Year Colleges by State, 2016Average Faculty Salary by Sector over TimePercentage of Faculty Employed Full Time over TimeStudent/Staff Ratio in Postsecondary Institutions over TimeFIGURE 2017 20BDistribution of Employees by Occupation, Fall 2015FIGURE 2016 23AComposition of Staff over TimeTABLE A1Consumer Price IndexFigures and tables that are only available online at trends.collegeboard.org.Additional figures from the 2014 and 2015 reports are available online.6

IntroductionFor the sixth year in a row, Trends in College Pricing reports averageone-year tuition and fee increases below 4% in the public four-yearand two-year sectors and at private nonprofit four-year colleges anduniversities, before adjusting for inflation.Price changes over time are most meaningful when adjusted forinflation. Between 2008-09 and 2013-14, as higher education struggledalong with the rest of the economy, published tuition and fees roseby 14% after adjusting for inflation at private nonprofit four-yearinstitutions and by almost 30% in the public two-year and four-yearsectors. Over the five years ending in 2018-19, the largest increasewas 10% from 32,500 (in 2018 dollars) in 2013-14 to 35,830 inthe private nonprofit sector. Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, averagetuition and fees rose by 7%, from 9,590 to 10,230 at public four-yearcolleges and universities, and by 5%, from 3,500 to 3,660, at publictwo-year colleges.As always, Trends in College Pricing 2018 also reports on changes innet prices, combining the information on published prices with dataon financial aid from Trends in Student Aid 2018. During the recession,when published prices were rising rapidly, dramatic increases infinancial aid—particularly federal Pell Grants and tax credits—ledto declines in the average prices students actually paid. But afterincreasing by more than 60% between 2007-08 and 2010-11, totalgrant aid for undergraduate students has grown slowly, rising by only6% between 2010-11 and 2017-18. As a result, net prices have beenrising, putting additional financial stress on students and families,among whom incomes continue to rise slowly.In addition to information on tuition and fees and family incomes,Trends in College Pricing 2018 provides detailed data about roomand board and other nontuition expenses in student budgets,variation in prices and their rates of change across states andinstitution types, and the length of time students take to completetheir degrees. Although the report does not include analysis ofthe causes of changes in tuition prices, it does include informationthat can provide insight into the forces underlying increases in theprices students pay for college. Relevant factors include changes inenrollments and state funding levels, the composition of institutionalexpenditures and revenues, and the distribution of endowmentresources across institutions.PUBLISHED PRICES FOR ONE YEAR OFFULL-TIME STUDYThe prices reported in Trends in College Pricing are for one year offull-time study. Many students enroll part time, and prorating theseprices does not always give an accurate picture of the publishedprices that students face, much less of the net prices generated bythe grant assistance and tax benefits they receive.An accurate picture of the financial investment needed for a collegeeducation requires a focus on the total price of earning a degree, notjust the price of one year of college. Among students who began theirstudies full time at a four-year institution for the first time in 2010,41% had completed a bachelor’s degree at their first institution afterfour years and 60% had completed a degree after six years (NCES,Digest of Education Statistics 2017, Table 326.10). Relying on datafrom the National Student Clearinghouse, Trends in College Pricing2018 reports that students who completed bachelor’s degrees in2014-15 were enrolled for an average of 5.1 full-time academic yearsand those who completed associate degrees were enrolled for anaverage of 3.3 years. Whether pursuing two- or four-year degrees,students who attend multiple institutions before graduating takelonger to complete their studies.Taking more than two years to earn an associate degree or morethan four years to earn a bachelor’s degree has other financialimplications beyond tuition and fee expenses. Forgone earningsfrom reduced participation in the labor force are the largest portionof the cost of college for most students. The more quickly studentsearn their degrees, the more time they have to earn college-levelwages and reap the financial benefits of postsecondary education.Bachelor’s degree recipients age 25 to 34 had median earnings65% ( 18,630) higher than those with high school diplomas in 2017(U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 Income Data, Table PINC-03).TUITION AND FEES VERSUS TOTAL CHARGESIn addition to tuition and fees, we report room and board chargesfor residential students, living costs for commuter students, andother components of student budgets. Whether students live onor off campus, they must pay for housing and food, buy books andsupplies, and cover transportation and other basic living costs.Many of these expenses are not really additional costs associatedwith attending college, but are expenses people face whether ornot they are in school. It is very difficult to succeed in college whileworking full time. However, the cost of students’ time is difficult tomeasure, and we make no attempt to do so in this report. Becausestudents tend to think of living expenses as part of the cost ofgoing to college, and because they must come up with the funds tocover these outlays, it is useful to use these expenses as a proxy forforgone earnings. The cost of living poses a significant hurdle formany students. Even those who receive grant aid sufficient to covertuition and fee charges may struggle to meet living expenses.The estimates of average net prices included in Trends in CollegePricing include both tuition and fees as well as tuition and fees and roomand board combined. On average, grant aid and tax benefits cover allof the tuition and fees for public two-year college students. Still, theaverage full-time student in this sector has to cover almost 8,300 peryear in nontuition expenses. That amount averages almost 15,000for public four-year college undergraduates and about 27,300 forthose enrolled in private nonprofit four-year colleges and universities.There is considerable variation, not only in the published and net tuitionand fee prices students face, but also in the nontuition componentsof student budgets. One-third of undergraduate students live oncampus, 44% live in off-campus housing, and one quarter live withtheir parents. Moreover, there is considerable variation in nontuition7

budgets even among students with the same living arrangement inthe same postsecondary sector.DISTRIBUTIONAL ISSUESBecause of the variation in tuition and fees and other budgetcomponents, it is difficult to predict the financial circumstances ofindividual students based on the data in the Trends reports. However,as data from the 2016 National Postsecondary Student Aid Studyincluded in this report confirm, students from low-income familiespay, on average, much lower net prices than those from more affluentfamilies. Despite the fact that some student aid at the federal, state,and institutional levels is based on criteria other than financialcircumstances, most of the dollars are distributed at least in part tomeet financial need and provide greater support to students withmore limited resources.Focusing on the distribution of financial aid and the resulting net pricesis critical for assessing barriers to college access and success.Rising college prices create large hurdles for some students, whileothers are able to finance their education without significant hardship.INTERPRETING THE DATAMeasuring TuitionA growing number of institutions charge different prices for differentyears of study and/or for different academic majors. In other words,many students on a campus may face published prices quite differentfrom those reported by institutions in the College Board’s AnnualSurvey of Colleges. Even more fundamental, the lines betweensectors are increasingly blurry as more two-year colleges offer somefour-year degrees. For these reasons, the average published pricesfor each sector that Trends in College Pricing 2018 reports are notprecise measures.Trends in College Pricing 2018 presents detailed pricing data forpublic two-year and four-year colleges and private nonprofit four-yearcolleges and universities. We report average tuition and fees in thefor-profit sector from federal data.Price ChangesWhile the information reported here provides a best approximationof trends in college charges over time, we caution readers aboutplacing too much reliance on either precise dollar amounts orannual percentage changes. Each year we revise the average pricescalculated the previous year to account for revised data we receivefrom institutions and for changes in enrollment patterns. Detailsrelating to our methodology and data reliability can be found at theend of the report in Notes and Sources.8The tables supporting all of the graphs in the Trends publications, PDFversions of the publications, PowerPoint files containing individualslides for all of the graphs, and other detailed data on student aidand college pricing are available at trends.collegeboard.org. Pleasefeel free to cite or reproduce the data in Trends for noncommercialpurposes with proper attribution.

Published Charges by Sector and by CarnegieClassification, 2018-19The average published tuition and fee price for full-time in-state students at public four-year colleges anduniversities is 10,230 in 2018-19, 250 (2.5% before adjusting for inflation) higher than it was in 2017-18.TABLE 1 Average Published Charges (Enrollment-Weighted) for Full-Time Undergraduates, 2017-18 and ofitFour-Year 3,660 10,230 26,290 35,830 100 250 620 1,130Public Four-YearFor-ProfitDoctoralMaster’s— 11,120 8,850— 260 230Carnegie ClassificationPrivate Nonprofit s 8,600 44,020 30,450 34,920 320 1,630 860 1,080Tuition and Fees2018-192017-18 Change% Change 3,560 9,9802.8%2.5% 25,6702.4% 34,700 14,0003.3%— 10,8602.4% 8,6202.7% 8,2803.9% 42,390 29,5903.8%2.9% 33,8403.2%Room and Board2018-192017-18 Change% Change 8,660 11,140 11,140 12,680— 11,630 10,230 10,480 14,430 11,930 11,760 180 330 330 390— 360 300 270 460 350 370 8,480 10,8102.1%3.1% 10,8103.1% 12,2903.2%—— 11,2703.2% 9,9303.0% 10,2102.6% 13,970 11,5803.3%3.0% 11,3903.2%Tuition and Fees and Room and Board2018-192017-18 Change% Change 12,320 21,370 37,430 48,510— 22,750 19,080 19,080 58,450 42,380 46,680 280 580 950 1,520— 620 530 590 2,090 1,210 1,450 12,0402.3% 20,7902.8% 36,4802.6% 46,9903.2%—— 22,1302.8% 18,5502.9% 18,4903.2% 56,360 41,1703.7%2.9% 45,2303.2%NOTES: Prices in Table 1 are not adjusted for inflation. Prices reported for 2017-18 have been revised to reflect the most recent information and may differ from thosereported in Trends in College Pricing 2017. Public two-year room and board charges are based on commuter housing and food costs. Prices for the for-profit sector arefrom IPEDS and the latest available data are for 2017-18.SOURCES: College Board, Annual Survey of Colleges; NCES, IPEDS Fall 2016 Enrollment data and IPEDS 2017 Institutional Characteristics data.Enrollment-weighted tuition values represent the price charged by each institution weighted by the number of full-time undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2016.Public four-year in-state charges are weighted by total fall 2016 full-time undergraduate enrollment in each institution, including both in-state students and out-of-statestudents. Out-of-state tuition and fees are computed by adding the average in-state price to the out-of-state premium weighted by the number of full-time out-of-stateundergraduate students enrolled at each institution. Room and board charges are weighted by the number of undergraduate students residing on campus for four-yearinstitutions and by the number of commuter students for public two-year institutions. The 2018-19 increase in published tuition and fees was largest inthe private nonprofit sector, where the average price increasedby 3.3% ( 1,130) to 35,830.

Average published tuition and fees at private nonprofit four-year to 35,830 in 2018-19. Average total charges in 2018-19 are 48,510. (Table 1) Average published in-district tuition and fees at public two-year 3,660 in 2018-19. (Table 1) Average tuition and fee charges for full-time students in the for-profit sector were 14,000 in 2017-18 .