New England’s public and private two- and four years colleges continue to charge higher prices than the U.S. average, according to new data posted to the Financing Higher Education section of NEBHE’s Trends & Indicators. To view the latest updates to our Higher Education Financing section, visit Trends & Indicators: Continually Updated Stats on New England’s Education and Economy.
For more than a half-century, NEBHE has been publishing tables and charts exploring “Trends & Indicators” in New England’s demography, high school performance and graduation, college enrollment, college graduation rates and degree production, higher education financing and university research.
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Recent data from the annual Grapevine survey by the Illinois State University’s Center for the Study of Education Policy and the State Higher Education Executive Officers show state funding of higher ed grew by 2% in Connecticut and Vermont between FY07 and FY12, and by 5% in Maine. But funding declined during the period by -8% in Massachusetts, -33% in New Hampshire, and -17% in Rhode Island.
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Meanwhile. the Obama administration released more details on the president’s ideas for tackling rising college costs. The White House proposals include:
• Changing the formula used to distribute Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Perkins Loans and Federal Work-Study funds to reward institutions for enrolling and graduating relatively higher numbers of Pell-eligible students, offering relatively lower net tuition prices and restraining tuition growth.
• The Race to the Top for College Affordability and Completion competition would offer incentives to states to align standards for exiting K-12 exit and entering postsecondary education, revamp state higher education funding strategies and maintain adequate levels of funding for higher education.
The percentage of students receiving Pell Grants has increased in recent years. Between 2006-07 and 2009-10, the number of Pell Grant recipients attending New England public postsecondary institutions increased 51%. The average Pell Grant awards granted to these students has also represented a growing share of average tuition and mandatory fees during this period.
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