Communications of the ACM
Would Tuition Discounts Get More Students to Major in Science?
Credit: The Oregonian
In an experiment to steer more students into science, technology, and engineering careers, the state of Florida is investigating whether tuition discounts could provide a strong enough nudge for students to change majors. Governor Rick Scott's task force on higher education recently suggested freezing tuition at state schools in areas like engineering, science, health care, and technology, while letting the cost of humanities rise. The key question, of course, is whether a differential of as little as $1,000 per year in tuition — and an increasing likelihood that they will find a high-paying job after graduation — will convince students to make the switch.
The Florida proposal is a new twist on an old idea. Instead of increasing tuition across the board, many universities over the past decade have started charging more for majors with courses that are more costly to provide. Degrees in biology and engineering, for example, typically involve smaller class sizes, higher faculty salaries, and cutting-edge labs with expensive equipment, so universities look to students to foot more of the bill. Today some 45% of large public research universities differentiate their pricing this way. Researchers who have studied the outcomes of differential tuition have found that higher prices tend to dissuade students. The generally accepted consensus is that a $1,000 change in costs is associated with a 5% change in enrollment rates.
From Time
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