Trends in Higher Education

Trends in College Pricing was authored by College Board senior policy analyst Sandy Baum and consultant Jennifer Ma, with assistance from Kathleen Payea, Patricia Steele and Anne Sturtevant.

Contact information for the authors:
Sandy Baum, sbaum@collegeboard.org
Jennifer Ma, jma@collegeboard.org

Trends in College Pricing and its companion report, Trends in Student Aid, are supplemented by a website that makes detailed data available for reference and downloading. The PDF versions of these reports, along with PowerPoint slides of all the graphs, are available on the Web: www.collegeboard.com/trends.

Additional hard copies of the report can be ordered online or via e-mail: trends@collegeboard.org. Tables, graphs and data in this report or excerpts thereof may be reproduced or cited, for noncommercial purposes only, provided that the following attribution is included:

Source: Trends in College Pricing. Copyright © 2009 The College Board. www.collegeboard.com

The publication would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of many people at the College Board, including Tom Rudin, Sally Mitchell, Marilyn Cushman, Eleanor Vogelsang, Jonathan Van Arsdell and Edna DiFeo of the Washington Office. We would also like to thank Edna Johnson, the Marketing & Publication Services staff, and the External Communications division. We are very grateful to Keryl Holman, Kimberly Gray Fess and the staff at Hawthorne Visual for their expert graphic design assistance.

Defining Terms

According to the 1997 National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, defining "cost," "price" and "subsidy" is critical to clarifying the issues in financing postsecondary education.

"Costs" refer to the expenditures associated with delivering instruction, including physical plant and salaries.
"Prices" are the expenses that students and parents face.
"Published price" is the price institutions charge for tuition and fees as well as room and board, in the case of students residing on campus. A full student expense budget also includes books, supplies, transportation and other basic living costs.
"Net price" is what the student and/or family must cover after grant aid and savings from tax credits and deductions
are subtracted.
"General subsidies" make it possible for institutions to charge less than the actual costs of instruction. State, federal and local appropriations, as well as private philanthropy, reduce the prices faced by all students — whether or not they receive financial aid.

The College Board

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board is composed of more than 5,600 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through college readiness, and services in college admission, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT® and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.

The Washington Office of the College Board conducts research relevant to public policy issues in education. The office is located at 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036-2375. Phone: 202-741-4700.

For further information, visit www.collegeboard.com.

© 2009 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, SAT and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. inspiring minds is a trademark owned by the College Board. PSAT/NMSQT is a registered trademark of the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All other products and services may be trademarks of their respective owners.