Tuition Discounting Data Is Here

Need-based aid. Merit aid. Tuition remission. Distributing financial support to a growing number of families in a fair and equitable way can be a challenging task for school leaders. How can we better ensure these finite resources are given to those who would benefit the most while simultaneously stewarding our schools toward optimum enrollment levels AND the achievement of net tuition revenue goals? 

This is not only a challenge for PK-12 independent schools. The average tuition discount at private colleges has risen every year for many years now, and in 2024 tops 50% — 52% for all undergraduate students and 56% for first-time, full-time students. No wonder the press picks up on the story. Private colleges and universities are foregoing more than half of their tuition revenue, often in the form of institutional grants or merit scholarships, in a bid to attract more students.

Thankfully independent schools are, on average, not discounting tuition anywhere close to that rate. I can say this with confidence because NBOA just released the Tuition Discounting Report for PK-12 Independent Schools, which includes analysis of the pandemic years, 2021-2023. The report is based on a greatly expanded data set, 439 schools, thanks to the DASL-BIIS data collection partnership established in 2021.

The report examines the financials of schools with data in NBOA’s signature data platform, BIIS, for 2021-2023 and includes schools of all sizes, and both day schools and schools with a boarding component. Inside you will find analysis by school type, student enrollment, region and tuition level, with attention to trends in discounting rates, students receiving discounts, types of discounting and ways of funding discounts. New this year, we have extracted the data that applies specifically to boarding schools and published a distinct report companion, making it easier for boarding school leaders to find the data that applies to their unique context. 

The first time NBOA released the Tuition Discounting Report for PK-12 Independent schools, in 2021, it was very well-received. I’m even more enthusiastic about its utility this time around. Here are a few top-level insights from the executive summary:

• The tuition discount rate declined.
• Concerns about need-based financial aid during the pandemic years becoming our new normal did not materialize.
• But tuition remission and merit aid played a larger role in tuition discounting.

If you are intrigued, and you want to know what exactly the tuition discount rate was, for example, or how exactly tuition remission increased, that is by design. I urge you to take the time to read the robust and reliable analysis in the fully updated report, which offers a succinct executive summary, highly practical insights, 18 full color charts, and a worksheet that enables school leaders to calculate and benchmark their tuition discount rate. The worksheet also offers key questions for discussion at the leadership level. Consider, too, sharing it with your school’s enrollment leader and board of trustees.

The Tuition Discounting Report for PK-12 Independent Schools is available to NBOA members free of charge, as a significant member benefit. Nonmembers can purchase the report, and included in the price of purchase is registration for our October 24 webinar with the report’s author, Elizabeth Dabney, NBOA’s senior director of research and data analysis, and Megan Fangmeyer of FACTS, a division of Nelnet Inc., which provided generous financial support for the study.

So, dig in, see how your school’s tuition discount rate compares to relevant cohorts, and consider what that means for your school’s mission and financial sustainability. Speaking as NBOA’s president and CEO, it’s a pleasure to provide independent school business leaders with such practical tools and resources that truly help our schools deliver on their promises to families.

Follow NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields on LinkedIn.