College Tuition & Fees vs. Overall Inflation (CPI-U) Cumulative Inflation Comparison 1979 - September 2021
1400.00%
1323.52%
1200.00%
1000.00%
College Education Cumulative Inflation
800.00%
600.00%
400.00%
301.63%
200.00%
Overall Consumer Prices (CPI-U)
0.00%
© 2021 www.InflationData.com Updated 11.03.2021
This inflation disparity has not gone unnoticed – especially since, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute, middle-class wages have been stagnant over the same period of time, despite large increases in economic productivity. 3 To make up the funding gap, students and families have turned to borrowing, which college financial aid offices help facilitate. But attitudes are changing about taking on student debt and the prospect of paying it back. According to statistics from the Education Data Initiative, more than 43 million borrowers have student loan debt totaling $1.774 trillion – a record high – and more than 92 percent of that comes from federal loans. The average federal student loan balance is $37,717. 4 A survey by Trellis Company suggests rising feelings of stress, anxiety and even despair among student loan borrowers, with 62 percent of respondents saying they have more debt than expected, that the total is unmanageable and that they doubt any portion of their debt will be forgiven. 5 2009 Note: Data are for institutions that grant associate degrees or higher in the 50 states and the District of Columbia that participate in Title IV federal financial-aid programs. Source: National Center for Education Statistics 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 0 6M 12M 18M
9,000,000
If students are souring on borrowing, how to bridge the funding gap?
Financial aid professionals at colleges and universities have worked hard to make higher education more affordable through self-funded grants, fellowships and scholarships. This “discount rate” has been growing in value to both incoming students and returning students. 8,000,000 8.25.2023 8,500,000
2021
2026
2016
In a National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) study of 359 private,
Source: Higher Ed HR Magazine , CUPA-HR Forecasted data from Higher Education Demand Index (Grawe, 2016)
4
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