Brief: Understanding Tuition Discounting at Public Institutions
Americans cannot escape a perennial question they have about higher education: “Why is college so expensive?”
The answer is increasingly unclear to students and families, thanks to policy changes and market dynamics over the past decade that have led to a substantial shift in how public universities approach tuition pricing. This issue brief examines why tuition discounting is happening and why it matters. It also offers some principles institutions can consider as they approach tuition policies.
For more details, see Higher Ed Insight’s report, “Understanding Institutional Aid and Tuition Discounting at 4-Year Public Institutions,” which takes a closer look at this practice.
Tuition discounting, put simply, is the practice of offering targeted grants and scholarships that reduce costs for some students, even though the published price remains higher for others. At public institutions, these strategies often support various enrollment goals, such as attracting academically strong out-of-state students or enrolling underrepresented populations, while maintaining financial stability.
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