With the average tuition cost of a four-year college up 15 percent, America is no stranger to financial aid and supplying students with debt upon graduation.
A new study has found that tuition at for-profit schools where students receive financial aid was 75 percent higher than at for-profit schools where students do not receive any aid. With rising student debt levels and growing tuition rates, different research has been budding.
An article from The Wall Street Journal states, “studies of the relationship between increasing aid and climbing prices at nonprofit four-year colleges found mixed results, ranging from no link to a strong causal connection. But fresh academic research supports the idea that student aid in the form of grants leads to higher prices at for-profit schools, a small segment of post-secondary education.”
Looking back between the years of 2008 and 2010 the average price of tuition for a four-year public university grew 15 percent. States such as Georgia, Arizona, and California even reached growth of up to 40 percent, due to state budget cuts.
Each year the U.S. Department of Education takes a look at college affordability. Recently they have found drastic price increases at private universities, including for-profit institutions, and at some schools the net price is currently twice as high as Harvard.
According to an article from the Huffington Post, “at Full Sail University, a film and art school in central Florida, the average price of tuition, fees, books, and other expenses totals $43,990, even when grants and scholarships are factored in. The average net price for an incoming Harvard student: $18,277, according to the department. Net price is cost of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid.”
Education Secretary Ann Duncan is a college student’s advocate when it comes to rising tuition prices as well as financial aid.
“As a nation, we need more college graduates in order to stay competitive in the global economy,” Duncan said. “But if the costs keep on rising, especially at a time when family incomes are hurting, college will become increasingly unaffordable for the middle class.”
The CollegeBoard realesed their 2011 Trends In College Pricing report. It displays that in the ‘80s tuition increased about 4.5 percent each year, and in the 90s it rose about 3.2 percent. Currently America is seeing an average growth rate of 5.6 percent per year.
Well collegiettes, this certainly concerns you. What are your thoughts on a link between financial aid and growing tuition rates? Better yet, what’s your solution?