Higher Ed Inflation Hits Highest Level Since 2008 - Rick Seltzer, Inside Higher Ed

An important marker of the rate of inflation in the costs colleges and universities increased more quickly in 2017 than it had in nearly a decade. The Higher Education Price Index inflation rate was 3.7 percent in 2017, according to the Commonfund Institute, which calculates the index annually. That’s the highest level since a 5 percent rate in 2008. Seven of the index’s eight components increased. Notably, the cost of fringe benefits rose by 5.9 percent, the largest increase since the financial crisis. Commonfund attributed the jump to an aging work force using more medical care and driving up prices. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/12/14/higher-ed-inflation-hits-highest-level-2008