A report published by College Board indicates a nationwide tuition increase of 8.3 percent for in-state students during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, while out-of-state student tuition increased by 5.7 percent.
A report recently published by the College Board, a not-for-profit higher-education advocacy organization, has found that tuition is on the rise.
Among in-state students attending four-year universities, tuition increased 8.3 percent nationally during the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Out-of-state students fare only a little better nationally, with tuition and fees increasing by 5.7 percent.
Thes statistics do not take into account room and board prices, which stayed the same at public four-year universities during fiscal years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, at around $8,549.
The College Board Report, titled “Trends in College Pricing 2011,” also found that “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.”
Meanwhile, USA Today reported late last month that the national student loan debt had exceeded one trillion dollars, more than the national credit card debt and equivalent to 7.14 percent of the United States’ current deficit.
Ben Hardcastle, a communications liaison from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, said that UCO’s tuition and fees increased by 5.5 percent in 2011 after a no-change 2010, and increased 5.9 percent between 2011 and 2012.
Hardcastle said that he was interested in one aspect of the statistics that he felt the media wasn’t covering.
“Public higher education is supported by public funds,” Hardcastle said. “The amount has gone up because public support has gone down.”
He said that there has been an eight-to-10 percent decrease in public support for higher education in recent years.
The College Board did issue a disclaimer with the “Trends in College Pricing” report.
“While the information reported here provides a best approximation of trends in college charges over time, we would caution readers about placing too much reliance on either precise dollar amounts or precise annual percentage changes,” the report read. “Details relating to our methodology and to other technical issues and data reliability can be found at the end of the report.”