Dear Commons Community,

The U.S. Department of Education released its third round of College Affordability and Transparency information on Thursday, calling attention to the nation’s most- and least-expensive colleges.  This information is most timely given the fact that the U.S. Congress is currently debating the rates on federal student loans.

Started in 2011 as a requirement of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the information—with price lists by sector—is part of a continuing effort to give prospective students and families more information about college. At the same time, the lists call out colleges whose prices are rising most quickly.

As reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education:

“The tuition for 2011-12 at four-year public colleges rose an average of 15.6 percent, according to the data, while the increase at four-year private nonprofit colleges was 10.2 percent.

At four-year public colleges, tuition ranged from a mere $182 at Haskell Indian Nations University, in Lawrence, Kan., to $16,132 at the University of Pittsburgh, the most expensive for in-state students. While tuition went up more steeply in percentage terms at public colleges, they are less expensive on average than are private institutions.

Elite institutions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions were the most expensive private colleges in terms of tuition. Columbia University had the highest tuition among all private nonprofit colleges in 2011-12—just over $45,000—followed by Sarah Lawrence College, Vassar College, George Washington University, Trinity College, and Carnegie Mellon University, where tuition and fees all exceeded $44,000…

Among public colleges with the lowest net prices, Florida, New York, Puerto Rico, and Texas were all well-represented.”

Nine CUNY colleges are on the list of public four-year colleges with the lowest net prices.

Tony