College tuition has risen at a rate four times faster than the rate of inflation over the past 30 years, according to a report filed by The Education Trust.

The report mentioned five colleges nationwide that provide solid, affordable education to low-income students. Besides colleges in California and New York, UNC-Greensboro was one of the schools brought up.

“It is important to note that these three systems [CA, NY, NC] are deeply, publicly committed to closing the access and success gaps between low-income and high-income students, and between whites and under-represented minorities,” the report said.

Of the five colleges mentioned, UNC-G low-income students paid less than any other school. UNC-G low-income students — defined in the report as having parents who earn $0 to $30,000 per year, paid $1,470 annually. Queens College in New York ranked second in the report: low-income students paid $1,708 annually for their education.

Authors of the report studied institutions that provide education for “a net price for low-income students of $4,600 or below, offer students at least a 1-in-2 shot at graduating and serve at least an average proportion of low-income students.”

The national college graduation rate is 30 percent, according to Jo Ann Norris, president and executive director of North Carolina Teaching Fellows. Therefore, the study discounts schools that adhere to the national graduation rate average, and favors schools that graduate 40 percent more students than the national average.

Julie Mallette, associate vice provost and director of scholarships and financial aid, noted further why N.C. State would not be included in the report.

“It is my understanding that you needed to have at least 30 percent of enrollment come from low-income students,” Mallette said. “By nature of criteria for N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill, that often will not happen. It eliminated UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State from the get-go.”

The report also highlighted the percentage of students eligible to receive federal aid in the form of Pell Grants, another reason why N.C. State was excluded from being considered for this report.

“[We] have at least 30 percent of students who are eligible for Federal Pell Grants. For the most recent year [2010-2011], only approximately 26 percent of N.C. State undergraduates qualified for Federal Pell Grants,” Mallette said. “In prior years, N.C. State had only 18 to 22 percent of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants; so the 26 percent this year is higher than in the past, but not high enough to meet the 30 percent threshold used for this report.”