The Setting of Tuition in Public Higher Education

Integrating postsecondary education financing policies: The Minnesota model

“…States fund public institutions, set tuition levels at those institutions, and award student financial aid without extensive reliance on either systematic policy research or integrated postsecondary policy development. Dramatic, strategically chosen changes (whether in the direction of "rationality" or otherwise) are therefore rare.For example, in the absence of clear policy guidelines, states tend to change tuition levels for public institutions either incrementally, in an across-the-board fashion bordering on herd instinct, or reactively, in an attempt to maintain certain price relationships between public and private or four-year and two-year institutions (Anthony and Herzlinger, 1975;Rusk and Leslie, 1978; Gilmour and Settle, 1984). These problems are present not only in the setting of tuition but also in state student aid policies and state institutional funding policies.…”

“…For example, in the absence of clear policy guidelines, states tend to change tuition levels for public institutions either incrementally, in an across-the-board fashion bordering on herd instinct, or reactively, in an attempt to maintain certain price relationships between public and private or four-year and two-year institutions (Anthony and Herzlinger, 1975;Rusk and Leslie, 1978; Gilmour and Settle, 1984). These problems are present not only in the setting of tuition but also in state student aid policies and state institutional funding policies.…”

The Price of Mission Complexity: A National Study of the Impact of Community College Baccalaureate Adoption on Tuition and Fees

“…In response to decreases in public funding, community colleges typically increase their tuition and fees in order to generate revenue (Romano & Palmer, 2016). Numerous studies have shown that tuition and fees increase at public institutions due to decreases in both federal funding (Cellini & Goldin, 2014; Kantrowitz, 2002) and state appropriations (Archibald & Feldman, 2008; Doyle, 2012; Koshal & Koshal, 2000; Mumper & Freeman, 2011; Paulsen, 1991; Rusk & Leslie, 1978). Tuition prices are also influenced by political and economic conditions, such as the political control and governance structure of the state (Knott & Paine, 2004; Titus, 2009), the unemployment rate (Barr & Turner, 2013), and the relative demand for higher education (Fethke, 2005; Kench & Wallace, 2010; Quigley & Rubinfeld, 1993).…”

Re(de)fining College Access and Its Association With Divergent Forms of Financial Aid: A Proposed Conceptual and Analytic Framework

“…The effect of state-based financial aid on undergraduate student access to college and mobility patterns has puzzled researchers for many years. Although merit-based aid was originally designed to improve access to the private sector (Dynarski, 2004), increases in the reliance upon tuition as a means of financing public higher education that started to be prompted by governmental policies since the 1970s (Rusk & Leslie, 1978, p. 531), fueled the appearance of Georgia’s Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship in 1993. HOPE set precedent on merit-based aid initiatives that impacted the public sector and aimed at retaining bright students within state borders.…”