Campuses Hiked Tuition for Fall. August CPI Priced It In.

The most consequential price move of the fall so far is one most readers never see itemized: the government's tuition index. August CPI, released September 11 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, booked a 0.5 percent monthly rise in college tuition and fixed fees, the largest one-month move in that series this year, and a 2.8 percent increase over the twelve months ending August. This is the season when roughly 19 million students and their families write the check, and the index says the check got bigger by about 2.8 percent on average, or roughly $340 more per year on a $12,000 in-state tuition bill.

Key takeaways College tuition and fixed fees rose 0.5 percent in August on a seasonally adjus…