Education Department Releases New Data on College Pricing

The National Center for Education Statistics today released a “first look” at data on college pricing for 2009-10. For example, four-year publics charged an average of $6,393 in tuition and fees for in-state, full-time students last year. Public two-year colleges charged $2,970, four-year private nonprofits $21,050, and four-year for-profits $15,715. The report also looks at changes in published costs since 2000-1, with the largest sectors seeing increases between 20 and 46 percent. The numbers differ from the widely cited College Board “Trends in College Pricing” because the federal data are not weighted to reflect student enrollment. The new federal report also has information on 2008-9 enrollments and degrees conferred.