University tuition surpasses income growth in past five years

During the past five years, Vermont's four-year public institutions increased "published" tuition and mandatory fees for state residents by at least 27 percent, according to a New England Board of Higher Education 2012-13 report on tuition and mandatory fees.
The Community College of Vermont raised its published tuition and mandatory fees by 24 percent.
The board noted that 2011 published in-state tuition and mandatory fees at four-year public institutions represented, on average, 21 percent of Vermont's median household income.
Published in-state tuition and mandatory fees at Community College of Vermont represented almost 10 percent of the state's median household income in 2011.
The term "published" is crucial. This "sticker price" has been growing faster than inflation for decades, leading many experts to focus more on "net tuition"--the out-of-pocket expenses students pay after their financial aid packages are taken into account. According to recent research, however, student financial aid programs are not keeping pace with rising published prices--so students are still paying more for postsecondary education than in previous years.
As outlined in the report, New England's 2011 median household income still hadn't reached 2008 pre-recession levels, although many public two- and four-year institutions continued to raise their tuition and mandatory fee rates this time.
The data were collected during the winter 2012 and analyzed by Director of Policy and Research Monnica Chan. For more, see New England Board of Higher Education's 2012-13 report on tuition and mandatory fees.
BOSTON-- The New England Board of Higher Education