WITH the economy struggling, parents and students dared to hope this year might offer a break from rising college costs. Instead, they got another sharp increase.

Average tuition prices rose sharply again this fall as colleges passed much of the burden of their own financial woes to recession-battered students and parents.

Average tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose 6.5 per cent, or US$429, to US$7,020 this fall, according to the College Board’s annual ‘Trends in College Pricing’ report, out Tuesday. At private colleges, the average list price for a year rose 4.4 per cent to US$26,273.

Those figures hide wide variations: Public college students in California, Florida, New York and Washington saw double-digit percentage increases, while the University of Maryland used federal stimulus money to freeze tuition this year.

More importantly, the estimated net price – what the average student actually pays after accounting for financial aid – was much lower, about US$1,620 at public four-year colleges, and less than US$12,000 at private ones. Though higher than last year, both figures are still lower than five years ago, thanks to increases in financial aid from the government and from colleges.

The figures do not include room, board and other living expenses.

Higher education once again failed to keep its price increases anywhere near the overall inflation rate. During the period covered by the College Board report, consumer prices declined by 2.1 per cent.