U.S. State Systems Freeze Tuition Fees As Enrollment Falters

Iris Palmer was quoted in Times Higher Education on public university systems freezing tuition fees:

Iris Palmer, a senior policy analyst at the thinktank New America, said that public university systems tended to freeze tuition fees when the state increased its direct investment in higher education and to raise fees when university funding was cut.

However, she predicted that an increasing number of public university systems would freeze tuition fees in an effort to increase enrolments.

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Louisiana, West Virginia and several New England states also suffer from a declining youth population, Ms Palmer said.

“In those states, getting good press from freezing tuition to try to recruit students will continue,” she said. “Another thing they’re doing is offering out-of-state students in-state tuition rates to try to drive up enrolment.”

Ms Palmer added that universities would have to “figure out how to make do with less funding if they continue to freeze tuition as a way to drive enrolment”.