Study shows college costs still rising

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Hikes in college tuition slowed in the last year, the College Board said in Washington Tuesday but was still up nearly $400.

The College Board released three studies, entitled Trends in College Pricing 2004, Trends in Student Aid 2004 and Education Pays: the Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society.

The studies said all forms of student aid are growing rapidly, but loans outpaced grant aid for the second year in a row.

At four-year public institutions, tuition and fees averaged $4,729 last year, an increase of 11 percent in 2004 dollars over 2002-2003 when the average was $4,263. This year's average was $5,123, an increase of 9 percent.

The Education Pays report showed investment in higher education has a significant return both of the individual and for society as a whole. The increase in income over a lifetime for a college graduate is as much as $1 million, College Board President Gaston Caperton said.

He said, "It is very powerful to see such strong and varied statistical evidence of the individual and societal benefits presented together."