Inflation rate of 2.6% expected for colleges in 2019

U.S. colleges can expect their costs to rise by 2.6% in the 2019 fiscal year, according to data from the Commonfund Institute, which intends to help higher ed institutions project their budget increases. The preliminary Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) for 2019, which measures inflation in higher ed costs, marks a slight decrease from a rate of 2.8% in 2018 and 3.3% in 2017. However, inflation rates for supplies and materials, as well as for utilities, are projected above those of last year. Faculty salaries are projected to increase at a slightly lower rate (2.0%) this year than they did last year (3.2%).The Institute said it will begin releasing more HEPI estimates throughout the year, as well as add data for nine regional variants across the U.S. and for different categories of institutions. The HEPI wrapped up last year by announcing that the average yearly rate of inflation for higher ed over the last five years was 2.4%, with 2018 marking the third-highest score in the previous decade. Faculty salaries, which get the most weight in the index, came in slightly above the five-year average, as did pay for administrators and service employees. Only two of the eight categories tracked — administrator salaries and fringe benefits — came in under the five-year average in 2018.