Financial Condition and Tuition in Private Nonprofit Baccalaureate Higher Education
Open Access
Author:
Peruso, Dominick Francis
Graduate Program:
Higher Education
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
December 07, 2011
Committee Members:
Donald Heller, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Roger Lewis Geiger, Committee Member Robert M Hendrickson, Committee Member James Mckeown, Special Member
The rate of tuition inflation at U.S. colleges and universities is alarming and threatens both access and choice. Private nonprofit baccalaureate colleges often possess the highest tuition rates but routinely face financial challenges. This study was designed to better understand the relationship between tuition and financial condition for the private nonprofit baccalaureate sector of U.S. higher education. Using panel data from 452 colleges from 1998 to 2008, the model indicated a relatively weak overall association between tuition and five elements of financial condition; operating results, liquidity and flexibility, leverage, asset performance, and tuition discount. In spite of the weak overall association, liquidity and flexibility, leverage, and asset performance each possess statistically significant relationships with the annual percentage change in tuition.
