Summary: On a percentage basis, tuition has risen faster at both four-year and two-year public colleges and universities than it has at four-year private institutions--30 percent versus 17 percent in the past five years. However, four-year private schools, which had much higher tuition costs to begin with, had dollar increases that were greater than those of four-year and two-year public schools. The relative size of a school, whether public or private, appeared to have no relationship to the rate of increase. At both four-year public and private schools, the size of tuition increases was statistically linked to several other financial variables, including schools' revenues from grants, contracts, and gifts and changes in schools' costs to provide education. In the case of public schools, changes in government appropriations for higher education were also a factor. Tuition rises at community colleges have closely paralleled increases at four-year public schools in recent years. States, consortiums of schools, and individual colleges and universities have all taken steps to cut schools' operating costs in recent years--from eliminating academic departments to boosting class sizes to privatizing such operations as bookstores and food services. However, these measures may not necessarily lead to lower tuition for students because schools' costs may be only one of several factors considered when decisions on setting tuition are made.
