The Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) is an inflation index designed specifically for use by institutions of higher education. Compiled from data reported by government agencies and industry sources, HEPI measures the average relative level in the price of a fixed market basket of goods and services purchased by colleges and universities each year through current fund educational and general expenditures, excluding research. A more accurate indicator of cost changes for colleges and universities than the Consumer Price Index (CPI), HEPI is used primarily to project future budget increases required to preserve purchasing power. With compilations dating back to 1961, HEPI offers more than 50 continuous years of higher education inflation data. It is an essential tool enabling schools to determine increases in funding necessary to maintain both real purchasing power and investment. HEPI is compiled using data items from publicly-available sources that are released at different points in the academic fiscal year, from July 1 through the following June 30. Following the executive summary and an introduction about HEPI, this report contains the following sections: (1) HEPI Tables; (2) Higher Education Price Index for Different Types of Educational Institutions; (3) Cost Factor Differences by Institution Type; (4) Higher Education Price Indices for Different Regions of the Country; (5) Cost Factor Differences by Region; (6) Limitations and Opportunities of HEPI by Institutional Type and Region; and (7) Purchasing Power and Salaries of Full-Time Professors. [For the 2017 Update, see ED586447.]