As a result, the amount students and families actually pay has risen as well.
Funding remains shared between the federal government and students, and the amount students have to pay matters.
But most of these students pay far less: When grants and deductions of tax credits are taken into account, the net amount students pay is about $3,120.
"Kerry's cynical attacks are at odds with the facts that more Americans have college degrees than ever before and the amount students pay in tuition costs is down by a third since 1998," he said.
Gill Wyness, who last week authored a CentreForum think-tank report calling for cheaper degrees, said: "It seems the department has underestimated the amount students will have to pay, and the debts they will have at the end of their studies".
But in the same period, the share of instruction costs paid for by actual tuition — not the sticker price, but the amount students actually pay after financial aid — has nearly doubled, to 40 percent from 23 percent.
Plans for sharp increases in the amount students must pay to go to university have prompted big protests in central London.
But the intense focus on the £9,000 paid to universities means that the amount students actually have to live on rarely gets discussed.
Net price, the average amount students at the college actually pay, after allowing for grants, is lower, often dramatically so.
Third, cost of attendance, which is currently used to help determine the amount students are eligible to receive or borrow, should be eliminated, and students should be granted a set amount, regardless of institution.
