EDUCATION
REPORT - College Costs in U.S.
By Jerilyn Watson
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English
Education Report.
A new report says the cost of studies at public colleges
in the United States increased fourteen percent this year. This is the
biggest increase in tuition in thirty years. But the study also found
that the average student pays a lot less than the published costs of
a college education, because of grants. And it points out that American
students received a record amount of financial aid last year.
Students do not have to repay grants, unlike financial
aid in the form of loans. About half of American college students receive
grants. This means that education costs differ from student to student.
The report is from the College Board. This is a non-profit
membership group of schools and other educational organizations. One
of its best-known jobs is to administer college entrance tests.
The College Board says tuition at two-year public
colleges rose at the same rate as four-year schools.
The College Board says the increases were mainly caused
by cuts（削减）in state spending on education.
But a congressman says colleges have increased their prices in both
good and bad economic times. John Boehner of Ohio is chairman of the
House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He says colleges do
not want to talk about their decisions to spend money to build things
like rock-climbing walls.
The College Board collected information from four-thousand
colleges and universities. It says the average total charge for students
who live at a public college in their state is ten-thousand-six-hundred
dollars. While tuition rose fourteen percent this year, housing and
other costs increased at a lower rate.
At a private college, total charges are almost twenty-seven-thousand
dollars. That is an increase of about six percent over last year.
David Ward is president of the American Council on
Education. His group represents colleges and universities. Mister Ward
called the College Board findings bad news. But he says percentage increases
in tuition do not tell the whole story. He says there was good news
about grants and other student aid.
The College Board says financial aid for the last
school year reached one-hundred-five-thousand-million dollars. That
amount was up sharply from the year before.
This VOA Special English Education Report was
written by Jerilyn Watson. This is Steve Ember.
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