Last week the Lumina Foundation for Education issued a report examining the accessibility of private and public colleges, drawing attention to variables that may affect a student’s ability to gain admittance into and afford certain universities.

The report draws attention to the rising cost of university educations in a year that saw Georgetown University hike its undergraduate tuition 8.9 percent from the last academic year – from $23, 088 to $25,152.

The analysis compared accessibility – defined as the chance of an average prospective student being admitted based on income level and financial need – of nearly 2900 national colleges. The results, which have already met with disapproval from critics, classify only 125 of the 1,142 private institutions as affordable to low-income students. They also show that a student with average grades and test scores may stand a better chance of affording a university based on his or her state of residence.

Private four-year college tuitions have routinely increased over the past decade, with the latest numbers showing a 5.5 percent tuition hike, according to the College Board’s Trends in College Pricing Survey. This makes the average cost of a private university $17,123.

While Georgetown’s costs remain above the national average, its annual tuition and fees are based on several factors, including the need to pay for new and enhanced academic resources, facilities and a range of student services, according to Associate Director of Communications Bill Cessato.

Despite the increase in Georgetown’s fees, the university’s own financial aid spending has grown from $25.7 million in 1999 to $27.5 million in 2001. The nearly $2 million increase reflects the university’s commitment to a need-blind admissions policy, allowing all students to be considered for admission regardless of their financial status.

“Each year, more than 55 percent of undergraduates receive some form of financial assistance,” Cessato said. “In 2000-2001, Georgetown undergraduates received $71 million in grants, scholarships, employment and loans.”

Critics insist that the Lumina study misconstrues the facts. According to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, 40 percent of undergraduate students at schools that are classified as inaccessible hail from households with yearly incomes less than $40,000.

“The report could cause considerable damage to the ongoing efforts of colleges, financial aid and scholarship services and others that are working hard to point out that college is, in fact, affordable by most people,” Richard Elkman, president of the Council of Independent Colleges, said in a Jan. 7 USA Today article.

Public schools have experienced a more noticeable tuition jump, with the average increase amounting to $3754, or 7.7 percent.

“People often don’t think of colleges and universities as operating in a competitive marketplace, but they do,” said Tim McDonough, spokesman for the American Council on Education. “And they compete on any number of levels. They compete on the quality of their academic programs. They compete on location. They compete on convenience. And they compete on price.”

As the number of students planning to attend college will grow by 19 percent over the next decade, tuition is becoming a top priority, according to critics.