The 2018 NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study

By MacGregor Obergfell

The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) recently released their annual study on tuition discounting and the percentage of tuition and fee revenue that private, nonprofit institutions put towards institution-based financial aid (e.g. grants and scholarships). This year’s study illustrated that the average institutional tuition discount rate continued to climb for the fifth consecutive year, reaching its highest level since 2007.

Among the findings:

• In the 2018-19 academic year, the average institutional tuition discount rate increased for both first-time, full-time students and for all undergraduate students.
  • For first-time, full-time freshmen students, the average institutional tuition discount rate exceeded 50% (52.2%) for the second straight year (50.2% in the 2017-18 academic year)
  • For all undergraduate students (those taking courses for academic credit, regardless of their attendance status or academic grade level) the average institutional tuition discount rate was 46.3%, compared with 44.6% in the 2017-18 academic year.
  • See trends for the past decade below.

• As tuition discounting has increased, so have tuition and fees. This allows institutional revenues to remain relatively stable, despite larger tuition discounts.
• Between 2008-09 and 2018-19, published tuition and fee price increased by 46.9% at private, nonprofit institutions.
  • Institutional grant aid per first-time, full-time student increased 91.3% over the same time period.
  • The ultimate result is that the net tuition rate for first-time, full-time students only increased by 18% between 2008-09 and 2018-19.