College costs across the nation continued to rise this year, growing at a faster rate than inflation, according to recent reports from the College Board.
Average tuition and fees at private four-year colleges and universities increased by $1,404 to reach $23,712, a 6.3 percent jump.
When room and board charges are included, the average total price tag for four-year private schools comes to $32,307 this year, 5.9 percent higher than in the 2006-2007 school year.
With a 5.7 percent tuition increase and a 5.3 percent growth in total fees, Tufts is below the national average. The actual tuition rate of $35,842, however, remains above the mean.
Tuition increases at Tufts have been approximately five percent for several years, according to Director of Financial Aid Patricia Riley. Like most other universities, this consistently outpaces inflation, she said.
Inflation in the United States grew 2.8 percent between September of 2006 and September of 2007, according to a Federal Reserve report.
Joe Paul Case, the director of financial aid at Amherst College said that tuition typically outpaces inflation by around two points. This is because inflation rate calculations do not reflect the nature of a college's expenses.
"The general rate of inflation is measured on the family household, not what colleges buy," he said. Thus, items such as laboratory equipment, books and periodicals are not taken into account, he said.
While an institution does not necessarily have to buy these products, administrators may find such purchases useful for attracting students.
"They want to outpace inflation because they want to step up what their university offers," Economics Lecturer Christopher McHugh said. "I think there's been an upgrading of the product."
Leah McIntosh, the executive administrative dean of arts and sciences, agreed that costs could be lowered, but only if the university's standards suffered as well.
"Universities and colleges do know ways to keep costs down. But, parents and students are not enthusiastic about [fewer] faculty and larger classes or more crowded dorms or decaying labs," she said. "Running a high quality research university is expensive."
McIntosh, along with Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg, Dean of Engineering Linda Abriola, President Lawrence Bacow, Provost Jamshed Bharucha and the Board of Trustees, set the tuition every year.
"We look at the costs necessary to provide the caliber of education that we believe our students deserve," she said.
Part of the money goes toward sustaining a high quality faculty, according to Director of Central Development Programs Christopher Simoneau.
Other factors outside of colleges' control also impact tuition rates.
"Two of the most important costs on a university campus are utilities and people," McIntosh said. "Over the last few years, we've seen tremendous growth in energy costs. ... We've also seen steady and sometimes dramatic growth in the cost of health care."
In an attempt to lower these costs, Tufts has made large strides in energy conservation, she said.
The College Board reports are based on the "sticker price" of college tuition, according to McHugh. He feels it is important to remember that "few people pay the full price."
Simoneau agreed: "While tuition is going up, the amount of financial aid has increased dramatically," he said.
At Tufts, financial aid shot up 11.6 percent this year, according to McIntosh.
About 35 percent of students receive grants from Tufts, and about half have some form of financial aid, including federal and state grants, federal loans, and work-study.
"Federal and state funds had been fairly stagnant," Reilly said. "But last year and this year, federal grants have increased."
