Tuition Revenue Is Expected to Be Stagnant Again Next Year, Moody’s Says

Public and private colleges and universities alike expect tuition revenue to be relatively stagnant in the 2016 fiscal year, according to Moody’s Investors Service’s annual tuition survey.

A report on the survey said that both public and private institutions project about a 2-percent increase in net tuition revenue, in keeping with a trend of “muted” growth also observed in last year’s report.

The survey, which drew responses from about 170 institutions, also found that nearly two-thirds of public institutions project growth in net tuition revenue of less than 3 percent, which the service projects as the inflation rate in 2016. “Focus on affordability, flat or declining enrollment, and state-imposed limits are key drivers for modest net-tuition-revenue growth,” the credit-rating agency’s report says.