Dive Brief:

• Tuition at public universities rose 2.9% this year, the smallest rise in three decades, according to an annual College Board report.
• Last year's increase of 4.8% was the smallest in more than a decade.
• This year, the cost at private colleges rose more than at public schools, jumping 3.8%.

Dive Insight:

There's cost and there's affordability. The College Board's report also finds that the increases in grant aid from 2009 to 2011 have not kept pace with rising tuition: After increasing by 30% between 2008-09 and 2010-11, grants per student grew just 1% from 2010-11 to 2012-13.