Study Charts Reasons for Tuition Increases

A new study on why college tuition fluctuates concludes that changes in state appropriations are the most significant factor for public institutions, while private-college tuition is most closely linked to institutional aid for students and the salaries of faculty members.

The study, released in February by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, examined trends in institutions’ costs and revenues, and what private colleges charged in tuition from 1988 to 1996 and public colleges charged from 1988 to 1998.

At private colleges, the study found a strong correlation between increases in undergraduate tuition and institutional aid for students, and a smaller but still significant correlation between tuition and higher faculty pay. Decreases in endowment income and in private gifts were also found to be associated with higher tuition.

The study found no tie between tuition increases and federal grants, state grants, or student loans, even though some financial-aid experts have argued that the increased availability of financial aid has prompted institutions to raise tuition ever higher.

At both private and public colleges, increases in tuition outpaced inflation and grew faster than most expenditures within institutions.

The report, “Study of College Costs and Prices, 1988-89 to 1997-98,” is available online (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfor.asp?pubid=2002157).

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