Subtitled, "Considerations beyond the institution’s competitive market position," this article from University Business magazine looks at a number of important considerations to be made when planning to raise or lower tuition, and in communicating such changes to students and their families. It includes links to useful resources, data sources, and calculators.

Whatever the institution’s sticker price, messages about affordability need to be sent early and often to prospective students and their parents. Even at low-cost institutions, some portion of the prospect pool will find the charge above their means, so this advice applies to both public and private institutions. And although every institution will soon offer a net price calculator, most calculators will require families to provide an extensive amount of information to get the estimate.

Consequently, it is not clear how many families will actually be willing to go through the process for every institution they are considering. Offering simple messages (e.g., an income profile of the class showing that students from all backgrounds attend or scholarship programs with clear eligibility criteria and award amounts) to encourage families to complete the aid application process will still be important.

Understanding the Costs of Public Higher Education by Peter McPherson and David Shulenburger

"In the case of higher education costs, diametrically opposed views have persisted over time. Why?"

Paul T. Brinkman and Anthony W. Morgan. 2010. Financial Planning: Strategies and Lessons Learned. Planning for Higher Education. 38(3): 5–14. 

This article is part of a themed issue of SCUP's journal, Planning for Higher Education, focusing on Issues in Higher Education Finance. Click, above, on the journal image to go to this issue's full table of contents or on the article title to go to this specific article.

Abstract - "This article explains the cost of education in public research universities. 'Price,' meaning 'tuition,' is often incorrectly substituted for 'cost,' meaning expenditures by the university that make the education possible. University cost is disaggregated to enable readers to distinguish between the costs associated with providing education to students and the costs of other non-educational activities that tend to produce their own revenue. While tuition has increased rapidly, real cost per student for providing education has been roughly constant for nearly 20 years. Increased revenue from tuition has been almost precisely offset by reduced revenue from state appropriations."

SCUP members were sent a printed copy of this issue, can read the full article on line, and can download a PDF at no additional charge. Nonmembers can purchase a PDF of this article here.