tuition increases at u.s. colleges rose relatively slowly after rapid rises during and immediately after the 2007-2009 recession, but stagnant wages, very low inflation and a slight pullback in grants to students continue to amplify those modest jumps and fuel concern about college affordability. published tuition for the 2016-17 academic year rose 2.4% for in-state students at four-year public schools<u+2014>slowing from 2.9% last year, according to a report released<u+00a0>wednesday<u+00a0>from the college board, a new york nonprofit that tracks university costs and administers the sat. in-state students attending public four-year institutions now pay $20,090 on average for tuition, fees and room and board, up from $19,570 in 2015-16. private-school costs rose $1,500<u+00a0>from the previous academic year<u+00a0>to $45,370. since 2006-07, the annual sticker price for in-state students at a four-year public school jumped by nearly $5,000, while the cost of a four-year private school increased by more than $9,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars. institutional aid and tax benefits have failed to keep pace. as a result, 68% of graduating seniors had student loan debt in 2015, averaging $30,100 per borrower, according to the institute for college access and success. that debt represents a 4% increase over 2014 graduates. anxiety about that debt has become a pivotal issue in the 2016 presidential race . democratic nominee hillary clinton has put forward a plan to allow any american from a household making up to $85,000 a year, to attend their state colleges tuition-free . critics of the plan say it would lead to higher costs with few incentives to spend the money efficiently. republican presidential nominee donald trump has called for lowering college costs by removing what he characterizes as burdensome federal regulations on schools that have led to <u+201c>administrative bloat.<u+201d><u+00a0>he also favors<u+00a0>plans that allow students to pay back loans tied to future earnings and<u+00a0>removing tax breaks on college endowments. average in-state tuition varies considerably between states. for instance, in wyoming students pay $5,060. in vermont, students pay $15,650. in nine states, tuition has been relatively flat over the past five years. in nine others, costs have surged by more than 20%. the cost of public universities tracks closely with the economy, tax revenues and state subsidies to higher education. over the past few decades, states have pushed an ever greater share of higher-education costs to students in the form of tuition and fee increases. that trend is amplified during recessions. write to douglas belkin at doug.belkin@wsj.com
college tuition rises 2.4% at public schools, college board says  - wsj
douglas belkin