Business costs for colleges rose 2.7% in the 2021 fiscal year
Natalie Schwartz
December 16, 2021
Dive Brief:
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Business costs for U.S. colleges rose 2.7% in the 2021 fiscal year, according to data from Commonfund, an investment manager that has been publishing higher education’s inflation rate since 2005.
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Commonfund says the Higher Education Price Index, or HEPI, is a more accurate indicator of cost changes for colleges than the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, which tracks inflation more broadly in the U.S.
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The 2.7% rate marks an increase over last year’s HEPI rate of 1.9% and is slightly above the five-year average of 2.6%. It also exceeds the CPI, which rose 2.3% in fiscal 2021, though Commonfund’s report said it’s typical for HEPI to be higher than the CPI.
Dive Insight:
Commonfund released its annual HEPI report at a time when inflation has been grabbing national attention. The CPI rose 6.8% in November over last year, the largest annual change seen since the early 1980s. The latest HEPI rate does not yet cover the months where the U.S. CPI rate has soared.
