Effects of tuition discounting on university’s financial performance

Abstract

We study how tuition discounting affects the financial decisions of universities, their student recruitment, and reputation. Using a large panel data of U.S. private and public four-year institutions, we find that tuition discounting helps institutions enhance their short-term operating surplus, increase admission yield, and reduce drop-out rate. However, it does not appear to improve the graduation rate or the quality of the incoming students. Institutions relying more on tuition discounting have more financial leverage, less equity, and experience lower liquidity and asset turnover—indicating greater financial risk. These results are stronger for private universities. Finally, out-of-sample tests show that tuition discounting may not help enhance the reputation of private universities.