NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The College Board said in its annual report that the average cost of attending a U.S. public university increased 6.6 percent over last year.

The board said the cost of in-state tuition and fees at four-year schools in the United States rose 6.6 percent to $6,185 a year, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday. The average cost of attending a private four-year school rose 6.3 percent to $23,712.

"The average cost of college is continuing to rise faster that the consumer price index," said report co-author Sandy Baum, an economics professor and senior policy analyst with the College Board.

In Illinois, the average cost of tuition and fees at four-year public universities rose about 12 percent from the 2006-07 school year to $9,383, the Illinois Board of Higher Education said.

The average cost of attending a private college in the state went up 7 percent from the previous year, to $23,613.

"It's really disheartening that our universities are becoming less and less accessible and affordable," Gabriel Pendas, president of the U.S. Student Association, told the Tribune. "What we're seeing is the closing off of our universities to those students who really need the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty."