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ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

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Figure 5-8<br />

Growth in the Cost of Attendance and Net Price between 2009 and<br />

2017<br />

Growth in 2016 Dollars<br />

9,000<br />

(23%)<br />

Cost of Attendance<br />

8,000<br />

Net Price<br />

7,000<br />

(percent change noted in parentheses)<br />

6,000<br />

5,000<br />

4,000<br />

3,000<br />

2,000<br />

1,000<br />

0<br />

-1,000<br />

(11%)<br />

(-4%)<br />

America’s College Promise<br />

(28%)<br />

(27%)<br />

(8%)<br />

2 Year Public 4 Year Public 4 Year Nonprofit<br />

Note: Years are academic years, and prices are for undergraduate students. Public costs are for<br />

in-state students. Cost of attendance includes tuition, fees, room, and board. Net price subtracts<br />

grant and tax aid from cost of attendance.<br />

Source: College Board (2016a)<br />

Although investments in grant and tax aid have helped make college<br />

more affordable for many students, too many families still feel as if college<br />

is out of reach. To ensure that all responsible students are able to attend<br />

college, President Obama unveiled his America’s College Promise (ACP)<br />

plan in January 2015 to make two years of community college free for<br />

hard-working students. Over 1,300 American community colleges provide<br />

over 40 percent of undergraduates with educations that deepen their knowledge,<br />

make them more informed citizens, and lead to a quality, affordable<br />

degree or credential that improves their opportunities in the labor market.<br />

If all states participate in the President’s ACP plan, an estimated 9 million<br />

students could benefit from such an education, and a full-time community<br />

college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition each year.<br />

In fewer than two years since the President challenged more states and<br />

communities to make America’s College Promise a reality for their students,<br />

at least 38 Promise programs—or free community college programs—have<br />

launched in states, cities, and community colleges in all corners of the United<br />

States (Figure 5-9), increasing the total estimated number of Promise programs<br />

to more than 150 across the country. Altogether these new programs<br />

are raising more than $150 million in new public and private investments<br />

316 | Chapter 5

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