Average college tuitions post hikes

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Reduced state spending and diminished endowment funds are making for higher college tuition for students this year, figures indicate.

A College Board report released Tuesday indicated four-year U.S. public colleges raised annual tuition and fees an average 6.5 percent to $7,020 this fall, while private colleges -- which saw the value of their investments drop in the same period -- posted a more modest 4.4 percent rise to $26,273, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The tuition hikes show "an inability or unwillingness (of colleges) to deal with becoming more cost-effective and increasing productivity" during the recession even as other sectors of the economy have been freezing costs, Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, told the newspaper.

"There is a lot of student aid that can help make this expense more manageable," Sandy Baum, a College Board senior policy analyst, told reporters, noting about two-thirds of all college students receive grant aid, and that on average it reduces tuition bills by more than half.