Unique 529 Reports Pair Tuition Costs With Minimally Acceptable Returns.

Money Management Executive this week has released a comprehensive, unique set of 529 data to help mutual fund companies, financial advisers and their clients more accurately plan college savings in both the short- and long-term.

Using exclusive data compiled by 1693 Analytics of Williamsburg, Va., the MME State Tuition Index and Datasheet reports are the first definitive public college tuition data indexes and absolute return benchmarks. Each report weights the college and university tuition and fee averages depending on the institution's size. They are the first installment in MME's 529 Risk-Adjusted Performance (RAP) Report series.

Tuition, room and board, and offsetting financial aid/tuition grants data has been broken down and is available for all 50 states.

More importantly, the proprietarily developed database analyzes changes in tuition, both at the state and national level, since 1990 to project a minimally acceptable return (MAR) that a 529 investor would need to meet future college costs.

Also included is data showing the upside risk and downside potential of each state's tuition costs rising at a rate greater than, or less than the national average, respectively.

"We felt it was important to develop a core set of absolute return benchmarks for each individual state, and to be able to allow for drilling down beyond the usual national statistics that are frequently bandied about," said Burt Baker, chief architect of the data and president of 1693 Analytics. "We think it gives more of an accurate picture than a national average which doesn't give the full picture and can often provide misleading answers."

For example, while the national average for tuition room and board is $12,949 for the 2006/2007 school year, with costs increasing an average of 5.9% over the past 15 years, parents of students attending New Jersey schools of higher learning are in for a much bigger sticker shock, currently paying $18,564 a year to send their child to a state college. And New Jersey's tuition, room and board has risen slightly higher than the national average, increasing 6.35% over the past 15 years.