While inflation has slowed from historic levels, costs for universities remain high and a source of financial pressure, especially when coupled with enrollment declines.
Common Fund Institute’s latest Higher Education Price Index forecasts the overall inflation rate on colleges’ costs at 3% for 2024. That’s down a percentage point from last year, and down more than 2 percentage points from 2022’s 5.2% inflation rate — but it still means overall costs are far higher than they were pre-pandemic.
