Patchy fog early, then partly to mostly sunny with some increasing high clouds later in the day. Still warm, dry, and comfortable. The better weekend day. .

Becoming mostly cloudy with a few showers possible late, especially west of the Lehigh Valley.

Sound Dollar examined data from the National Center for Education Statistics to see how college costs have changed between 1963 and 2020.

Getting a college degree has typically paved the way for a better economic future. Those with bachelor's degrees typically earn 75% more over their lifetimes than they would have with only a high school diploma.

The price of that college degree has become more daunting by the year. The average undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board for full-time students in the 2020-21 school year was $25,910.

While grants and scholarships offset the cost of college, many people finance their higher education through student loans, which has resulted in about 44 million Americans who are now paying off $1.7 trillion in student debt.

Sound Dollar examined data from the National Center for Education Statistics to see how college costs for private and public higher education institutions have changed between the 1963 and 2020 academic years, the latest data available. Tuition and fees were weighted by the number of full-time-equivalent undergraduates, while room and board are based on full-time undergraduate students.

Room and board accounts for student housing and meal plans. For public institutions, the in-district or in-state tuition was used. To account for inflation, amounts were calculated in today's dollars using the Consumer Price Index.

In the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, the federal government passed several pieces of legislation that sent more money to states to fund higher education and kept college costs down. More people opted to go to college because it was more affordable.

In the last 15 years, states have slashed funding for colleges, spending $6.6 billion less on higher education in 2018 than they did in 2008. Colleges opted to shift more of the cost burden onto students by increasing tuition. Household income hasn't kept up with these increases, so students have primarily turned to student loans to fund their education. 

Four-year colleges typically cost more than two-year colleges because they tend to spend much more on infrastructure, administration, and student services than two-year colleges. On the whole, four-year colleges are designed for students who leave their families to go to school, so there are more dorms, student health services, student clubs, and programs—and the occasional lazy river.

Two-year colleges tend to target commuter students who live at home, and they can also offer more skills-based or technical programs, both of which help keep the school's overall operating budget lower. While tuition and fees are much cheaper at two-year schools, they do get just 25% of their revenue from tuition. Cuts in state funding over the last 15 years have caused tuition at these institutions to creep up.

The sticker price of tuition at private schools has far outpaced that of public schools over the last 30 years. Private schools don't get government funding, so they rely on their endowment, tuition dollars, and donations to cover their costs. They also tend to be smaller than publicly funded schools, so they often charge more tuition and fees since there are fewer students. 

That said, private schools often offer tuition discounts as a way to make the costs seem more bearable. These discounts can include merit-based awards, fellowships, grants, and other funds that lower the full tuition price. In 2021-2022, first-time, first-year students at private universities received an estimated 54.5% discount rate on average, which is an all-time high according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Among all undergraduates, private universities offered a 49% average tuition discount rate. Between 2020 and 2022, many schools offered discounts for the academic year due to the coronavirus pandemic, though many did not renew them when students returned to in-person classes. 

Colleges leverage on-campus room and board as another source of revenue. In the early 2000s, many colleges added more amenities, technology, and specialized dining options to make them more attractive to prospective students who wanted all the comforts of home. Of course, this contributed to higher costs in terms of maintenance.

While the cost of food has gone down over time, that could be a result of how meal statistics are defined. Prior to the 1986-1987 academic year, board was defined as meals seven days a week, without any insight into how many meals were actually served. Now it's defined as 20 meals per week.

This story originally appeared on Sound Dollar and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

- The Cadillac Pub opens where Klingers used to be at 24 E. Main Street in Fleetwood

- II-VI Inc. (pronounced "two-six") will become Coherent Corp., taking on the name of a company it recently acquired.

- ABEC, a company that provides services and products to the pharmaceutical industry, with headquarters in Northampton County, will invest in a new disposable-container facility in North Carolina.

- A new Lehigh Valley Martial Arts center will hold a grand opening starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, with a ribbon-cutting shortly afterward.

- Bethlehem Township's planning commission has approved an Amazon parking lot with 248 spaces at Brodhead and Mowrer roads.

- The Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board rejected variance requests that would have allowed multifamily homes to go up on the Southside properties at 508-512 Selfridge St.

- Northampton County Council voted 1-8 against a tax break for development of a proposed warehouse at the Dixie Cup building on South 25 Street in Wilson Borough.

- The former Valley Farm Market, now known as Gerrity's Valley Farm Market, will take on a new name as of Oct. 14: Gerrity's The Fresh Grocer.

- Hamsa Exoticz is already open at the Lehigh Valley Mall, but it will hold a grand opening at 5 p.m. Sept. 16 with the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce.

- A new Home Depot will open a 136,048-square-foot building on about 21 acres of vacant land just off Hamilton Boulevard in Lower Macungie Township.

- Rocco Ayvazov's Monocacy General Contracting received approval from the Bethlehem Planning Commission to put up a six-story building with 55 apartments and retail space on the first floor at 128 E. Third St.

- The old Allen Organ showroom building on Route 100 in Lower Macungie Township will come down and about 100 total apartment units will go up.

- Reading Hospitality's Catering by DoubleTree will handle food at events at Reading Country Club, after Exeter Township supervisors approved a new agreement.

- Natural healing is the goal at Reike Balance, which will open Sept. 9. on Reading Avenue in West Reading.

- The Pocono Chamber of Commerce held a grand opening at the Bartonsville branch of Farmhouse Cafe.

- The reopening date for the historic Frenchtown Inn building overlooking the Delaware River in New Jersey remains unclear. 

- River Paws, a pet-supply store, is across Race Street from the Frenchtown Pharmacy.

- The planned reopening date of Aug. 13 for Toby's Cup was pushed back after ownership said a dispute about the occupancy of a home on the hot dog stand's property delayed the reopening.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.