Middling Results for Tuition "Resets"

Oct 11, 2018, 12:17 PM

(from Forbes) To combat rising tuition, some colleges have "reset" or drastically lowered their tuition in the past few years. So far the move has had middling results. Only 27 percent of schools employing the strategy managed to sustain enrollment gains of 5 percent or more, according to a study by the Education Advisory Board. In addition, only 29 percent of schools managed to meet a 3 percent revenue growth target following their tuition reset. Critics say that to raise enrollment numbers and thus, tuition receipts, schools should focus more on programs to support retention and graduation rates.

A tuition reset could mean some schools are leaving money on the table, given one-third of students pay full price for their educations, although that can be mitigated by the assumed boost in enrollment. The affordability narrative can be a mixed bag: for some prospective students, the higher cost feeds a perception of a higher quality education. Further, a generous financial aid package could motivate a student to attend a school, with the level of generosity suggesting a college’s commitment to an individual student.