The College Board is a source of information about college costs and financial aid.

College tuition and fees for 1997-1998 continued to rise at the same rate as last year, according to the College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges, 1997-1998. Another College Board report, "Trends in Student Aid: 1987 to 1997," found that financial aid was available to students at a record level -- more than $55 billion.

This year's undergraduates at American colleges will pay, on average, approximately 5 percent more this year than last in tuition and fees at four-year institutions, and from 2 percent to 4 percent more at two-year institutions. "For most Americans, college is still accessible -- especially in the light of financial aid currently available," said College Board President Donald Stewart, addressing the anxiety of many families facing college tuition. "Focusing too much on the highest-priced institutions overstates the problem and unduly alarms the public," he added.

John Joyce, manager of communication and training services at the College Scholarship Service, noted that half of all students enrolled in post-secondary education receive some financial aid. However, student aid for the past 20 years "has been drifting from a grant-based to a loan-based system," added Lawrence Gladieux, executive director for policy analysis at the College Board's Washington Office. "The erosion of grant aid over time, combined with expanded federal loan capacity, has produced a sea change in the way many students and families finance college," he said.

Students from low-income families do not fare well under current financial aid arrangements, according to the study. There has been a steady decline over the past 15 years in the purchasing power of the maximum Pell Grant available to the neediest students. From a College Board press release: "At its peak in the late 1970s, the maximum Pell Grant covered three-quarters of the average cost of attending a public, four-year college and one-third the cost of a private, four-year institution. Today, the maximum Pell Grant covers only one-third the average cost of attending a public, four-year college and one-seventh the cost of a private, four-year college."

Stewart expressed concern over the difficulty of financing a college education for a student from a disadvantaged background. "The clearest, simplest, most effective federal policy for increasing educational opportunity would be to restore the purchasing power of the Pell Grant," he said.

For more information on college costs and financial aid, see the www.collegeboard.org College Board's Web site or contact the College Board at 45 Columbus Avenue; New York, N.Y. 10023-6992; (212)713-8000.

(Source: Daily Report Card)

Copyright © 1997 Education World™