Commonfund Higher Education Price Index. 2023 Update

Commonfund Higher Education Price Index® (HEPI) data show that costs for colleges and universities rose 4.0 percent in FY2023, a decreased rate of inflation compared with 5.2 percent in FY2022 and up from 2.7 percent in FY2021. (FY2023 covers the period from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, and coincides with the budget year of most institutions of higher education.) This year, some of the biggest questions facing higher education are in the process of being answered -- will inflation continue to make headlines, and how will institutions respond, especially as high interest rates and market volatility persist? Price increases lingered longer than some anticipated throughout the real economy, impacting students, households, and institutional budgets. Commonfund understands the importance of having high-quality and relevant data inputs to anchor good governance and decision making for the long term. That's why Commonfund's annual HEPI isolates costs most relevant to the operation of higher ed. As this year's report shows, costs for a market basket of items making up those operating budgets increased at an annual rate of 4.0 percent in FY2023 compared with 5.2 percent in FY2022 (and 2.7 percent in FY2021). Inflation is easing, but for higher education institutions, it is still well above the prior decade's norm. [For the 2022 Update, see ED626333.]