Investigating and Describing Trends in Undergraduate Differential Tuition Policies at Public Four-Year Universities

• In Event: Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Tuition and Financial Aid

Abstract

Calls for increased college access may be undermined by variations in tuition charged to students by program or year of study. Differential tuition (DT) policies reduce transparency surrounding undergraduate costs and potentially function as mechanism for inequality. Yet no single database of differential tuitions exists, impeding current understandings of such policies adoption and impact on postsecondary access or affordability. Utilizing IPED data supplemented with newly gathered data, the study examines variations in DT policies, and describes public four-year institutions that have adopted DT policies. Preliminary findings indicate that 45% of public research universities feature DT policies, with the average rate of differential tuition by undergraduate program was 10.8% of resident undergraduate tuition.

Authors

• Casey E. George-Jackson, University of Louisville

• Gregory C. Wolniak, New York University

• Glen Nelson, Arizona State University

• Drew Allen, Princeton University