The Role of Tuition, Financial Aid Policies, and Student Outcomes on Average Student Debt

Rising college student debt levels have recently received considerable media coverage and have even been the topic of policy proposals that link rising student debt with tuition inflation. This paper examines the role that tuition, financial aid policies, and academic outcomes play in determining variation in average student debt levels across higher education institutions. A focus solely on tuition as the culprit in rising student debt misses the significant role that financial aid policies and student outcomes play in determining debt levels across non-profit higher education institutions. Specifically, being need-blind in admissions, meeting-full-need, limiting loans, and graduating students in high paying majors can have a larger impact on student debt levels than simply the cost of attendance

Institutional Variation in Enrollment of Low-Income Students: The Role of Prices, Financial Aid Policies and Selectivity

Socioeconomic diversity in tertiary education has come under increased scrutiny over the past few years. Policy makers and practitioners within higher education have devoted greater attention to encouraging more low-income students to pursue a college degree. This paper estimates the influence of prices (both sticker-price and net price), financial aid policies, and selectivity on the matriculation decisions of low-income students, across postsecondary institutions. All three factors are significant in determining the representation of Pell grant recipients as a percent of an institution’s entering class. A focus on net price, while important, ignores the significant influence of sticker-price (shock), selectivity, and financial aid policies on low-income students’ enrollment decisions, particularly at private institutions

Job Stability Among U.S. University Presidents

This paper examines job duration among U.S. university presidents from 2001 to 2006. Using data from the American Council of Education’s Survey of American College Presidents, this analysis finds that public university presidents are approximately 50 percent more likely to leave office than are their private university counterparts. This turnover translates into average job spells that are approximately 20 percent shorter for public university presidents. This job instability appears primarily to be driven by the higher propensity for public university presidents to leave one institution to become president at another institution

Public versus Private University Presidents Pay Levels and Structure

A number of existing studies have examined the determinants of private university presidents\u27 compensation, but none have estimated the recent earnings differential between public and private university presidents. This paper fills this void and estimates that public university presidents earn approximately 50 percent less than observably comparable private university presidents. This salary discount is robust to controls for institutional size, quality, wealth, individual characteristics of the office holder, and estimation technique

Title IX Compliance and Preference for Men in College Admissions

Title IX has undoubtedly increased athletic opportunities for young high school and college women. What is less well understood is whether Title IX has had the unintended consequence of decreasing educational opportunities for young women relative to men. This paper examines the relationship between a university\u27s compliance with Title IX via the proportionality standard and the subsequent admit rate difference by sex. I find that a lower proportionality measure, indicating a lack of Title IX compliance, results in an increase in preference for non-athlete males in college admissions

Revenue Shares and Monopsonistic Behavior in Intercollegiate Athletics

Intercollegiate athletics in the United States operates as a monopsonistic cartel under the umbrella of the National Collegiate Athletics Association. This paper examines the degree to which it is able to exploit this position by restricting the level of compensation that goes directly to the athletes in the form of athletic scholarships. The major professional sports leagues in the United States (baseball, basketball, football, and hockey) all have negotiated aggregate salaries that represent over fifty percent of league-wide revenues. In comparison, analyzing data from The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) of the Department of Education on 2,068 institutions of higher education reveals that intercollegiate athletes receive payments-in-kind, via athletic scholarships, that constitute less than 22 percent of total athletic department revenues. Clearly the monopsonistic practices of the NCAA are effective in restricting the compensation of athletes

The Impact of Class Size and Number of Students on Outcomes in Higher Education

Numerous studies have investigated the impact of class size on student outcomes. This analysis contributes to this discussion by examining the impact of class size on student outcomes in higher education. Additionally, this paper investigates the importance of student load (total number of students taught across all courses) in educational outcomes. We find that both class size and student load negatively impact student assessments of courses and instructors. Large classes and heavy student loads appear to prompt faculty to alter their courses in ways deleterious to students

The Impact of \u3ci\u3eU.S. News & World Report\u3c/i\u3e College Rankings on Admissions Outcomes and Pricing Policies at Selective Private Institutions

Despite the widespread popularity of the U.S. News & World Report College rankings there has been no empirical analysis of the impact of these rankings on applications, admissions, and enrollment decisions, as well as on institutions’ pricing policies. Our analyses indicate that a less favorable rank leads an institution to accept a greater percentage of its applicants, a smaller percentage of its admitted applicants matriculate, and the resulting entering class is of lower quality, as measured by its average SAT scores. While tuition levels are not responsive to less favorable rankings, institutions offer less visible price discounts in the form of slightly lower levels of expected self-help (loans and employment opportunities) and significantly more generous levels of grant aid. These decreases in net tuition are an attempt to attract additional students from their declining applicant pool

The Impact of US News and World Report College Rankings on Admission Outcomes and Pricing Decisions at Selective Private Institutions

Despite the widespread popularity of the U.S. News & World Report College rankings there has been no empirical analysis of the impact of these rankings on applications, admissions, and enrollment decisions, as well as on institutions' pricing policies. Our analyses indicate that a less favorable rank leads an institution to accept a greater percentage of its applicants, a smaller percentage of its admitted applicants matriculate, and the resulting entering class is of lower quality, as measured by its average SAT scores. While tuition levels are not responsive to less favorable rankings, institutions offer less visible price discounts in the form of slightly lower levels of expected self-help (loans and employment opportunities) and significantly more generous levels of grant aid. These decreases in net tuition are an attempt to attract additional students from their declining applicant pool.

An Empirical Examination of the Impact of College Financial Aid on Family Savings

The system of distributing financial aid dollars using needs analysis formulae implicitly imposes a financial aid tax on assets. Existing studies provide mixed evidence of the influence of this implicit tax on assets on wealth accumulation. This paper attempts to contribute to the literature on this topic by examining the sensitivity of results to various assumptions, specifications, and categories of assets, using more recent data that allows for the incorporation of recent developments in financial aid and college costs. I find much weaker evidence than existing studies that college financial aid has a significant impact on family savings