Colleges face 'difficult financial times'

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. colleges are entering "difficult financial times" as state funding and private giving drop, a non-profit higher-education association official says.

Public colleges and universities are trying to make up for cuts in state appropriations and private institutions are grappling with endowment drops and cutbacks in private giving, the American Council on Education says.

Michigan State University in East Lansing and Rhode Island's three public institutions have already announced midyear tuition increases.

"Colleges and universities are entering into very difficult financial times -- and access and quality are likely to remain at great risk," ACE President Molly Corbett Broad tells USA Today.

And while financial aid spending has increased, it is not keeping pace with tuition increases, the newspaper reported.

About two-thirds of students receive some form of student aid, a report by the non-profit College Board says.

Average tuition rates range from $1,292 at public two-year colleges in the West to $31,680 for private four-year colleges in New England, the College Board said.