Published Tuition and Fees at Public Colleges and Universities in New England 2020-2021

Higher education in the United States has seen incredible change over the past year and a half due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Postsecondary institutions have had to become increasingly flexible as they continue to deal with myriad changes including but not limited to: social distancing, mask mandates, virtual and hybrid modalities, and students opting not to return to campus or to school at all. To address the last issue, some institutions have tried to incentivize students to return to campus by implementing tuition freezes or allocating the funds that they received from state and federal governments in ways that increased access and affordability. This report examines the tuition and fees of public two- and four- year colleges in New England for the 2020-21 academic year. Because there is a one-year lag in the publication of tuition and fee data, this report provides a unique snapshot of the economic landscape of colleges and universities in New England during the first full academic year of the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout this report the author will compare the 2020-21 tuition and fees rates to pre-pandemic levels--an important comparison that will demonstrate how colleges and universities have sought to balance both their fiscal losses and those of many of their students and their families.