Learning Resources

Abstract: This article explores the impact of tuition increases on student retention and higher education admission and retention planning for racial and ethnic minorities. Research shows that the racial and ethnic minority student population on campus is negatively affected by tuition increases. Literature is examined for potential impacts of tuition increases on a student’s decision of school choice. And although literature provides little in the way of recommendations for resolving the issues associated with tuition increases, this article offers some suggestions for student retention planning.

Abstract: Due to the rising price of tuition, the prevailing narrative regarding higher education is that the cost of delivering a college degree is increasing substantially. However, the cost of delivering an education is not definitively linked to the price in tuition paid to attend. Prior studies confirmed small increases in instructional expenditures per full-time-equivalent student from the 1980s to 2000; however, more recent trends in instructional costs are relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to track instructional expenditures from 2004 to 2015 at U.S. public two-year and four-year institutions, and to calculate those expenditures as a proportion of U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

Abstract: The complexity of college pricing policies makes it difficult for students and families to understand how much they will have to pay and which colleges will fit their budgets. Colleges and universities should be able to explain their pricing and aid policies and why they have chosen them. Both financial aid and the high returns on a postsecondary education make college more affordable than most people believe. Colleges should take responsibility for clarifying this confusing issue.

Abstract: Beginning with the 2016–2017 academic year, Rosemont College took the bold step of reducing its tuition by 43 percent in an initiative termed “Our Tuition Promise.” The initial announcement generated national news coverage and resulted in a significant increase in applications.
Rosemont made this shift because it believed it was the right thing to do and was in keeping with the college’s mission and values. The process from start to finish was the result of a year of research and careful planning. While the headlines were big and up-front with the basic details, here is a behind-the-scenes look at how Rosemont College reset its tuition.

Abstract: This case study analyzes the impact of Indiana’s Twenty-First Century Scholars college tuition discount program on the academic self-efficacy of high-risk, low-income students. The program is designed to increase the number of high-risk individuals attending college. The self-efficacy “training” of the program helps instill and reinforce the idea that success or failure coincides with internal effort and not external factors. Surveys were completed by 55 program participants and 42 institutional representatives at different colleges in Indiana. The program increased students’ understanding of the feasibility of attaining a college degree, heightened students’ academic confidence, and improved their overall self-esteem. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of this program for academic planners developing programs to help high-risk students succeed in college.

Abstract: Through design or redesign of conventional structures, the physically and visually handicapped can easily use many conveniences and facilities previously unavailable to them. The authors describe several efforts to enable the handicapped to learn about the physical structures of their community and to move about their environment more freely.

Abstract: Among the many reforms currently sweeping higher education is the growing demand that formal educational opportunity be opened to adults. The result has been expansion of traditional continuing education and extension programs as well as a plethora of new and experimental programs aimed at the adult student. In an attempt to bring some order out of the resulting chaos, Jane Lord, a researcher for Educational Facilities Laboratories, and Ronald H. Miller, project coordinator for the New York City Regional Center for Life-Long Learning at Pace College, have reviewed the literature on adult education to produce this article, discussing the trends and the options open to institutions of higher education. An extensive bibliography is included.