ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996 TAG: 9609260076
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Hearst Newspapers
While a new study released Wednesday has concluded that students are increasingly forced to take out loans to finance skyrocketing college tuitions, college officials insisted that higher education is a good buy.
``College remains affordable for the vast majority of students,'' said Lawrence Gladieux, executive director for policy analysis at the College Board.
The nonprofit education advocacy organization is responsible for setting academic standards for the Scholastic Assessment Test and Advanced Placement exams.
But what ``affordable'' means is subject to debate.
``The stretch for people to cover the cost of college is growing,'' said David Breneman, dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. ``I think there's a reason for the public to be concerned.''
A report issued last week by the General Accounting Office said the average annual in-state tuition for four-year public colleges grew 234 percent from 1980-81 to 1994-95. The costs, which were not adjusted for inflation, outstripped median household incomes over the same period by 152 percentage points.
The College Board's own data released Wednesday show that tuition and fees increased 5 percent, on average, for the fourth year in a row.
Annual tuition and fees more than doubled from an average of $1,285 for a public four-year university in 1986-87 to $2,860 in 1995-96, according to the College Board. Private four-year university tuition and fees for the same period rose from $6,581 to $12,432, on average.
While rises in college costs are nothing new, Breneman said: ``The thing that's changed is that it used to be that family incomes were also going up. That, for a number of reasons, has ended.''
The median family income has fallen since 1986-87, from $40,973 to $39,819 in 1994-95, the last year for which the College Board had figures.
``It can be downright scary'' contemplating the cost of sending a child to college, conceded John Joyce, associate director of information and training services for the College Board.
But he and other officials insisted college is still a feasible investment, urging parents to start saving when their child is in middle school.
Grants and money available through work-study programs have fallen from about 80 percent of federal student aid available to about 20 percent, said the College Board study.
At the same time, loans, which must be paid off later with interest, have increased from about 20 percent of federal student aid to nearly 80 percent.
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