Dive Brief:
- A new survey produced by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities reveals that in-state students frequently pay far less than the posted prices for tuition and fees at colleges and universities.
- According to the reports, in-state tuition costs for public four-year institutions averaged about $9,410, while students actually paid about $3,980 after scholarships and grants. For private schools, the published price was $32,410 against an average net payment of $14,890 for students.
- 73% of all college and university students attend a two or four-year institution.
Dive Insight:
The continuing debate about college affordability rarely addresses the growing concern about institutional discounts, and how it impacts the bottom line of university operations. But given recent data about the decrease in the average household income of college students, the data seems to be off-setting in a narrative about the continuing work of the nation's economic recovery.
Colleges should continue to find all potential and actual resources for students, particularly low-income students. But it is middle class families who have the biggest challenges in affordability, and who create the most taxing work for institutions to find money for families who, on paper can afford school, but which aren't cash rich for educational costs.