Acknowledgments

Trends in College Pricing was authored by College Board senior policy analyst Sandy Baum and consultant Jennifer Ma, with invaluable support from consultant Kathleen Payea.

Contact information for the authors:
Sandy Baum, sbaum@collegeboard.org
Jennifer Ma, jma@collegeboard.org

Hard copies of the report can be ordered via e-mail: trends@collegeboard.org. Tables, graphs, and data in this report or excerpts thereof may be reproduced or cited, for noncommerical purposes only, provided that the following attribution is included:
Source: Trends in College Pricing. Copyright © 2008 The College Board. www.collegeboard.com

The project would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of many people at the College Board, including Tom Rudin, Sally Mitchell, Kathleen Little, Patricia Steele, Eleanor Vogelsang, and Edna DiFeo of the Washington Office; Stan Bernstein, Catherine Serico, Roger Harris, Doris Chow, Andrew Costello of the Annual Survey division; and Edna Johnson, Carol Balistreri, Sharae Johnson, Anne Sussman, William Fogarty, and Larry Hillman of the Marketing & Publication Services division. We are very grateful to Keryl Holman, Ted Hawthorne, Julie Grace, and David Dodson at Hawthorne Visual for their expert graphic design and publication skills, patience, and support.

Defining Terms

According to the 1997 National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, defining “cost,” “price,” and “subsidy” is critical to clarifying the issues in financing postsecondary education.

• “Costs” refer to the expenditures associated with delivering instruction, including physical plant and salaries.
• “Prices” are the expenses that students and parents face. “Published price” is the price institutions charge for tuition and fees as well as room and board in the case of students residing on campus. A full student expense budget also includes books, supplies, transportation, and other basic living costs. “Net price” is what the student and/or family must cover after grant aid and savings from tax credits and deductions are subtracted.
• “General subsidies” make it possible for institutions to charge less than the actual costs of instruction. State, federal, and local appropriations, as well as private philanthropy, reduce the prices faced by all students—whether or not they receive financial aid.