After several years in which college costs rose more rapidly than other consumer goods, average costs for tuition and fees this year increased less than 1% for public and private institutions when adjusted for inflation, a report released Wednesday shows. They even declined at public two-year institutions.
But context is everything: The 2008 inflation rate of 5.6% is more than double last year’s rate (2.4%) and well over 1991’s 4.4%. And while financial aid spending has increased, it is not keeping pace with tuition increases.