The U.S. Department of Education’s latest college cost report shows minority-serving institutions with some of the lowest net prices nationwide while others are struggling to keep tuition down due to state cuts and other factors.
The education department on Tuesday released its second annual set of data on the highest- and lowest-price colleges and universities by sector, meeting a mandate established by Congress in 2008. “These lists are a major step forward in unraveling the mystery of higher education pricing,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said when releasing the data.
In the four-year public sector, Puerto Rico placed four colleges and universities among the top 10 with the lowest net price, which is tuition minus average grant and scholarship aid. Macon State College in Georgia had the lowest net price, followed by two Puerto Rico institutions–Escuela de Artes Plasticas and University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon.
Sitting Bull College, a tribal institution in North Dakota, also made the top 10 list of public colleges with the lowest net prices.
But minority-serving institutions also were represented among public colleges with the largest net increases from 2008 to 2010. Historically Black Cheyney University in Pennsylvania was first on the list with a 63 percent increase, the department said.
Grambling State University in Louisiana was third with an increase of 54 percent during this period.
Department officials said state budget cuts are likely factors in these increases. With more than 40 states cutting higher education funding, Duncan said the trend toward lower state funding is “the single most significant factor in tuition increases.”
