The impact of tuition increases on enrollment at public colleges and universities

SW Hemelt, DE Marcotte - Educational Evaluation and …, 2011 - journals.sagepub.com
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2011journals.sagepub.com
In this paper we review recent increases in tuition at public institutions and estimate impacts
on enrollment. We use data on all US public 4-year colleges and universities from 1991 to
2006 and illustrate that tuition increased dramatically beginning in the early part of this
decade. We examine impacts of such increases on total enrollment and credit hours, and
estimate differences by type of institution. We estimate that the average tuition and fee
elasticity of total headcount is-0.0958. At the mean, a $100 increase in tuition and fees …
In this paper we review recent increases in tuition at public institutions and estimate impacts on enrollment. We use data on all U.S. public 4-year colleges and universities from 1991 to 2006 and illustrate that tuition increased dramatically beginning in the early part of this decade. We examine impacts of such increases on total enrollment and credit hours, and estimate differences by type of institution. We estimate that the average tuition and fee elasticity of total headcount is -0.0958. At the mean, a $100 increase in tuition and fees would lead to a decline in enrollment of about 0.25 percent, with larger effects at Research I universities. We find limited evidence that especially large tuition increases elicit disproportionate enrollment responses.
Sage Journals