Tuition & Financial Aid
in Higher Education:
Current & Future Trends
Jory Hadsell
Jennifer Olszewski
Drexel University
Current Trends
Rising Tuition Costs
Decreasing Financial
Support
Tuition Trends
Rising Costs
• 2000-2010 tuition fees
at public four year
institutions increased
5.6% over the rate of
general inflation
Financial Aid Trends
Effects
• Higher student
debt load
• Fewer choices at
public universities
• Decreased quality
as high-cost
programs are cut
• Enrollments shift
to private
colleges (NCES, 2011)
(University of California, 2011)
Tuition Discounting:
A Sustainable Trend?
Enrollment
Financial
Constraints
Diversity
Academic
Excellence
Future Trends
• Continued rise in advertised tuition rates with
added discounting
• Higher prevalence of cost/benefit analysis in
course and program offerings
• Institutional emphasis on campaigns to increase
philanthropy and partnerships
• Public institutions place real limits on growth
• Increased international and
out-of-state recruitment at public
colleges/universities
References
Altbach, P. G., Berdahl, R. O., & Gumport, P. J. (2005). American higher education in the twenty-first century: social, political,
and economic challenges. Mahwah (N.J.): The Johns Hopkins university press.
College Board Advocacy & Policy Center (2011). Trends in College Pricing.
Retrieved from http://trends.collegeboard.org/college_pricing/
Breslow,J.M. (2005). How enrollment is misused. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://chronicle.com/how-enrollment-management-is/
Blumenstyl, G. (2009). Colleges undermine their value when they put tuition “on sale”. Chronicle of Higher Education, 55 (38), 24.
Hossler, D.R. (2004). How enrollment management has transformed-or ruined- higher education. The Chronicle of Higher Education,
Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/how-enrollment-management-has-transformed-
Marklein, M. B. (2011, May 26). For-profit colleges see major gains in past decade, USA Today. Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-05-26-for-profit-college-undergraduate-enrollment_n.htm
Perry, S. (2011). As deficit hawks circle, charities brace for capitol hill. The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved from
http://philanthropy.com/article/Budget-Battles-Shift/127130/
Stripling, J. (2010, December 17). More tuition struggles projected, Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/12/17/moody_s_forecasts_falling_tuition_revenues_at_colleges
Supiano, B. (2011). When families ask colleges for more money. The Chronicle
of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Private-Borrowing-for-College/48878/
Supiano, B. (2010). Federal spending on student aid jumps as college prices go up again. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Federal-Grant-Aid/125133/
University of California. (2011). Gov. Brown budget would cut $1.4B from higher ed. University of California Budget News.
Retrieved from http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/budget/?p=1445