The relationships between unfunded tuition discounts at public universities in Texas and access, revenue, and prestige

Date

2021-12

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between unfunded institutional grants, also known as tuition discounts, for first-time, full-time undergraduate students at public universities in Texas and student access, tuition revenue, and institutional prestige. The increase in the practice of tuition discounting has contributed to the rising cost of tuition at public institutions, which has outpaced increases in inflation, average family incomes, and federal grant aid to students. Unfunded tuition discounting, which is the most common form of tuition discounting at public universities in Texas, redistributes tuition revenue to increase the enrollment of students that institutions value. This nonexperimental quantitative correlational study used data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to examine the relationship between tuition discounting and different institutional priorities. In the analysis of estimated unfunded tuition discount rates, this study found a positive relationship with SAT scores and negative relationships with tuition revenue and the enrollment percentages for Pell Grant recipients and the enrollment percentages for Black students. Within the enrollment management iron triangle, these results suggest that the universities in this study have used tuition discounting to prioritize institutional prestige. Enrollment managers and administrative practitioners can use the results of this study to inform their tuition discounting strategies to achieve student enrollment patterns that support their institution’s mission. For higher education policymakers, the results of this study can be used to inform higher education strategic goals related to access and quality.

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Keywords

Discount, Access, Prestige, Tuition

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