Exploring the Effects of Relative Tuition Increases on the Racial/Ethnic Composition of Public Colleges

Presented at: 
AERA 2015 Annual Meeting
April 18, 2015

Drew Allen, CUNY
Gregory C. Wolniak, NYU

Abstract
Estimates of tuition elasticities of our Diversity Index provide important new evidence on the changes that published in-state tuition and fees have on the enrollment patterns of certain groups students, which in turn leads to changes in the racial/ethnic composition of students bodies at four-year public colleges and universities. Based on these results, our conclusions back up other recent studies, such as research by Flores and Shepherd (2014) that found evidence that Hispanic students were negatively affected by tuition deregulation in Texas.

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