Tuition increases at public colleges across the United States have outpaced private institutions for the fifth year in a row, according to a recent report by the College Board.
Since fiscal year 2006-07, the average annual increase in tuition prices at public universities is 5.1 percent, compared to private colleges’ average increase of 2.88 percent.
LSU has averaged a percent increase of 7.42 percent per year over the past five years, with increases ranging from 2.1 percent between 2006-07 and ’07-’08, up to 10.2 percent from ’10-’11 to ’11-’12.
But some administrators at the University think the comparison is a matter of apples and oranges, according to Jason Droddy, director of external affairs.
Droddy said the percent increase only looks good for private universities on paper, as their base prices are far higher than those at public institutions.
Currently, the average tuition at public universities is $8,244 nationwide, while private colleges have an average tuition of $28,500. The University’s tuition currently sits at $6,354, which is $1,890 below the national average for public colleges.
“That’s why private schools look much better in raw numbers,” Droddy said.
In dollars, public schools have the edge, he added, because the dollar-amount increases can be larger at private universities with smaller percentage increases than those at public universities.
The national average of public-university tuition over the past five years has increased by $1,801, compared to an increase of $3,734 for the average tuition at private colleges.
The University’s tuition has gone up $1,905 since fiscal year 2006-07.
Bob Kuhn, associate vice chancellor in the Office of Budget and Planning, agreed the numbers are incomparable given the varying revenue sources that support public and private institutions.
The state controls both the amount of money it gives to public universities and the ability for those universities to adjust their tuition, he said.
“As the state reduces appropriations to an institution, the institution is left with two choices,” Kuhn said.
An institution would either diminish its operation size or increase tuition to compensate for a cut, he said, and both decisions would have to go through the state.
Management through the government separates public institutions from private institutions, which control all operations internally, including budget, while public universities’ budgets are largely controlled by the state government.
“We don’t control the price of our product; the legislature does,” Kuhn said, adding that the University doesn’t control its own costs, either. “In the private industry, there’s a direct correlation.”
But he said even the appropriations and distribution systems vary among state governments, leaving each state and each public university with differing means of acquiring revenue.
“Our responsibility is not to make a profit,” Kuhn said.
 
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