Tuition discounts at private nonprofit colleges reach new highs, study finds

Higher Ed Dive

Natalie Schwartz

May 15, 2024

Dive Brief: 

• Private nonprofit colleges discounted tuition more in the 2023-24 academic year than ever before, rising to an average rate of 56.1% for first-time, full-time students, according to preliminary estimates from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

• That’s up from 54.8% during the prior academic year, marking years of steady increases. Projections show the discount rate for all undergraduates also ticked up to 51.9% in 2023-24, rising from 50.8% in the previous year.

• Meanwhile, net tuition and fee revenue from first-time, full-time undergraduates fell by 1% in the 2022-23 academic year after adjusting for inflation. This decline comes after a whopping 5.4% decrease in this revenue source in the year before, according to NACUBO.

Dive Insight: 

NACUBO’s latest study, based on a sample of 325 private nonprofit colleges, shows at least a decade of steadily climbing tuition discounts. Kara Freeman, NACUBO’s president and CEO described tuition discounting as a key strategy to make private college affordable for students and their families.

“This year’s study shows that while institutions continue to deal with economic and pandemic-related headwinds, affordability remains a priority as they work to put higher education within reach for their students,” Freeman said in a statement.

However, some higher education experts have criticized how colleges communicate their prices to students.

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