Change in Average Tuition-Discount Rates at Private Nonprofit Colleges, 2007-8 to 2018-19

The share of revenue from tuition and fees that went back to first-time, full-time freshmen in tuition discounts at private nonprofit institutions surpassed 50 percent in the last two academic years. During the 2018-19 academic year, an estimated 89.8 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen received institutional grant aid, which covered nearly 60 percent of the published tuition and fees. By 2018-19, institutional discounts also covered more than 46 percent of tuition-and-fees costs for all undergraduates. Discounts have grown by 13.1 percentage points for first-time, full-time freshmen from the fall of 2007 to the fall of 2018, and by 11.6 percentage points for all undergraduates.

Note: Tuition-discount rates indicate what percentage of an institution’s gross revenue from tuition and fees is given back to first-time, full-time freshmen, and to all undergraduates, in the form of scholarships and grants. Data are as of the fall of each academic year. Figures for 2018-19 are based on reports from 405 colleges that were members of National Association of College and University Business Officers in September 2018. More data can be found here.

Source: National Association of College and University Business Officers

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