"Tuition Prices, Financial Aid, and Access to Public Higher Education: A State-level Analysis"
Donald E. Heller
Harvard University
American Educational Research Association
Annual Meeting, April, 1996
New York, NY
In recent years, public colleges and universities have increased tuition prices at alarming rates, often far in excess of the growth in price indices or incomes. These increases have threatened to cut off access to a college education for the 80% of students who attend public postsecondary institutions in the United States. Poorer and minority students, who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education, may be particularly at risk because of these pricing policies. With very few exceptions, there has been little published research conducted on the impact of the price increases that have occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
This paper session will present the results of research conducted into the relationship between public college and university tuition prices, financial aid budgets, and access to public postsecondary education by white and minority students. The primary research questions addressed in this study are:
How have the public higher education enrollment rates of white and minority students nationally and in each state changed from 1976 to 1993?
As public college and university tuitions increase, is there a disproportionate impact on the enrollment rates of minority students versus white students in certain states, and in certain sectors within states?
Do changes in financial aid budgets affect the enrollment rates of white and minority youth differently?
The objective of the study is to determine whether increases in tuition prices and reductions in financial aid availability have disproportionately affected the access to public higher education by minority students.