In the context of the privatization of higher education, this study examines the possible role of state finances in promoting equal educational opportunities. Through the combined use of a national representative database and a state finance database and the application of hierarchical generalized linear modeling methods, this study found that…

Questions about how student financial aid and the costs of attending college influence educational opportunity for diverse racial groups have lurked beneath the surface of the policy debates about higher education for decades. When the Higher Education Act (HEA) was passed in 1965, there was a general acceptance that the federal government had a…

Examined how students' enrollment responses to college costs--both in college choice and persistence decisions--vary by social class. Found substantial class-based patterns of enrollment behavior in response to prematriculation perceptions of college costs and actual postmatriculation costs, consistently restricting postsecondary opportunities for…

Examined effects of financial aid on within-year persistence by African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites enrolled in Indiana public higher education. Found that financial aid recipients persisted better than or as well as non-recipients within each racial/ethnic group. College grades and other college experience variables also had a substantial…

Reports on changes in pricing decisions at public and private colleges in a low-cost and a high-cost state in the 1980s. Five liberal arts colleges studied used several pricing strategies: "elite" pricing strategy; "prestige" pricing strategy; and price reduction strategy. Study found multiple causes for price increases, more sophisticated pricing…

A study analyzed the impact of college tuition and student aid changes in the 1980s on enrollment, using price-response measures to examine why total enrollment remained stable while low-income enrollment declined. The technique is found useful for explaining the consequences of price policy choices. (MSE)

This study reviews higher education assumptions of traditional net-price theory and an emerging approach considering a set of price and subsidies in enrollment and persistence decisions. Results suggest that within-year persistence decisions made by students from all income groups are more sensitive to tuition charges than to student aid.…

State case studies of resource management for higher education are examined to develop a framework for use at all levels in analyzing current state finance policy. A resource management approach that can be used in several ways in the review and planning process is outlined. (MSE)