How The Costs Of Indiana Colleges Rank Against Their Peers

Kyle Stokes / StateImpact Indiana

The U.S. Department of Education maintains lists of the most and least expensive colleges to help perspective students see how much it will cost to complete their degrees. Six Indiana schools appear on the latest lists, released Wednesday.

Six Indiana colleges appeared on lists released Wednesday that rank higher education institutions based on affordability.

The U.S. Department of Education maintains the lists to help prospective students understand just how much they’ll be paying to complete their degree. (Of course, we cover this topic a lot.)

New this year are comparative data that can help consumers see how institutions rank against their competitors. The lists, which are required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, look at schools with the highest (top 5 percent) and lowest (bottom 10 percent) tuition, as well as at net cost of attending the institution. Schools are divided between public and private, not-for-profit and for-profit and two- and four-year institutions.

Here’s how the Indiana schools stacked up:

• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute made the list for private, not-for-profit, four-year colleges with the highest net price: $33,727 a year. That’s the cost of attending less any scholarship or grant aid, which about 99 percent of Rose-Hulman students receive. According to the financial aid office, tuition for the 2012-13 academic year is $38,313. The national average net price for private, not-for-profit, four-year colleges is $18,770.

• At $7,560 a year, the Fort Wayne and South Bend regional campuses of Trinity University had lower tuition than similar private, not-for-profit four-year colleges. The national average tuition for private, not-for-profit, four-year colleges is $21,949.

• Calumet College of Saint Joseph in Whiting had one of the lowest net prices for private, not-for-profit, four-year colleges: $9,374. About 91 percent of students receive some form of scholarship or grant aid. Tuition for the 2012-13 school year is $14,680.
• University of Phoenix made the list for lowest tuition for a private, for-profit, four-year college. Tuition at the Northwest Indiana and Indianapolis campuses is $10,440, well below the $15,056 national average for similar institutions.
• About 94 percent of students at Harrison College in Muncie receive some kind of scholarship or grant aid, putting the school on the list of private, for-profit, four-year schools with the lowest net price. On average, students pay about $16,016 a year to attend Harrison College. (The school offers a guarantee to students who remain continuously enrolled in a degree-seeking program that their tuition won’t go up.) The national average net price for similar institutions is $22,387.
• The College of Court Reporting Inc. in Hobart has one of the lowest net prices for a private, for-profit, two-year university: $9,859, below the $18,239 national average for similar institutions. About 37 percent of students receive some kind of scholarship or grant aid. Tuition was $13,250 for the 2011-12 school year.

This is the second year the Department of Education has released the lists. A report summarizing why schools have increased their tuition and what they’re doing to control costs will be released later.