Question:
How much do colleges and universities spend on students?

Response:
Trend data show small increases in the current-fund expenditures per student at public 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities in the late 1980s and larger increases during the 1990s. After an adjustment for inflation at colleges and universities, current-fund expenditures per student at public colleges rose about 5 percent between 1985� and 1990�, and another 28 percent between 1990� and 2000�.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 (NCES 2006�0), Chapter 3.

NOTE: Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 (NCES 2006-030), Table 339.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 340. Current-fund expenditures and educational and general expenditures of degree-granting institutions, by purpose and per student: Selected years, 1929-30 through 1995-96
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 341. Current-fund expenditures of public degree-granting institutions, by purpose and type of institution: 2000-01
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 342. Current-fund expenditures of public degree-granting institutions, by purpose: Selected years, 1980-81 through 2000-01
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 343. Current-fund expenditures of public degree-granting institutions, by state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 1980-81 through 2000-01
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 344. Educational and general expenditures of public degree-granting institutions, by state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 1980-81 through 2000-01
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 345. Voluntary support for degree-granting institutions, by source and purpose of support: Selected years, 1959-60 through 2003-04
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 346. Total expenditures of private not-for-profit degree-granting institutions, by purpose and type of institution: 1996-97 through 2002-03
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 347. Total expenditures of private not-for-profit degree-granting institutions, by purpose and type of institution: 2002-03
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 348. Total expenditures of private for-profit degree-granting institutions, by purpose and type of institution: 2001-02 and 2002-03
  
• 2006, Digest of Education Statistics 2005, Table 349. Total expenditures of private not-for-profit and for-profit degree-granting institutions, by level and state or jurisdiction: 1996-97 through 2002-03
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2006, Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2004; Graduation Rates, 1998 & 2001 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2004
  
• 2005, Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2003; Graduation Rates 1997 & 2000 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2003
  
• 2004, Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2002 and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2002
  
• 2004, Federal Support for Education: Fiscal Years 1980 to 2003
  
• 2003, A Study of Higher Education Instructional Expenditures: The Delaware Study of Instructional Costs and Productivity
  
• 2003, Congressionally Mandated Studies of College Costs and Prices
  
• 2003, What Colleges Contribute: Institutional Aid to Full-Time Undergraduates Attending 4-Year Colleges and Universities