Financial Aid Not Keep Pace with College Costs

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Financial aid is not keeping up with the rising costs of college education in Utah and across the nation. The College Board's annual "Trends in College Pricing" report found tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose more than 6 percent. Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Rich Kendall says tuition in the Beehive State is rising even faster:

"It varies from year to year," says Kendall. "It's been as low as 8 percent and up to 12 percent. In just the last five years we're looking at a 50-percent increase in tuition."

Meanwhile, the size of Pell grants offered to low-income students is increasing more slowly - leaving a gap that Kendall hopes the Utah Legislature will help to fill.

The state's U-COPE program gives additional gifts of about 500 dollars to augment Pell grants for needy Utah students. Kendall will ask lawmakers to nearly double funding for the effort to 3-point-5 million dollars this year.

The College Board's report found tuition at public two-year schools is increasing more slowly. That holds true in Utah, says Kendall, where Salt Lake Community College had no increase in second-tier tuition last year.

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