Public Policy and Higher Education in the West: A Tuition and Fee Update
Public Four-Year Institutions

In 1998-99, the average tuition and fees charged by institutions in the WICHE region continued to outpace inflation and median household income. However, the year-to-year increase between 1997 and 1998 was the lowest in the past decade. Excluding California's 5 percent reduction in fees at its public institutions, the average annual tuition and fees increase at four-year public institutions in the Western states was 4.4 percent. One-year changes in average tuition and fees at these institutions reveal:

• Among WICHE states, average tuition and fees for resident undergraduates rose 1.9 percent – from $2,535 in 1997-98 to $2,583 in 1998-99.

• In contrast, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.8 percent over the same period.

• Changes in tuition and fees for resident undergraduates between 1997-98 and 1998-99 among the Western states ranged from a 3.8 percent decrease in California to a 9.4 percent increase in Idaho.

Regional trends in historical tuition and fees show a strong pattern of decline in average annual percentage changes at four-year institutions:

• Between 1993-94 and 1998-99, year-to-year increases in resident undergraduate tuition and fees were 9.6 percent, 3.6 percent, 4.2 percent, 3.8 percent, and 1.9 percent (see Figure 1).

• Over the last 10 years, the average annual change ranged from the current low of 1.9 percent to a high of 13.4 percent in 1990-91.

• On average, resident undergraduate tuition and fees at four-year institutions in the region increased nearly 103 percent between 1988 and 1998.

There is considerable variability in tuition and fees charged by different types of institutions according to their Carnegie classification. At Research Universities I and II, average annual increases between 1998 and 1999 were lower than those at most other institutional types.

The influence of California’s fee reduction is seen in the regional average tuition and fees. Seven of the 17 Research I institutions in the region are in California, and the fees at these seven are higher than in any other state. California’s 5 percent fee cut at its seven Research I institutions skewed the regional average. Consequently, average tuition and fees for the region in 1998-99 decreased slightly over the 1997-98 level. The ten-year tuition and fees increase, however, was still 115.4 percent for these institutions (see Figure 2).

Among the region’s seven Research Universities II, average tuition and fees increased by 2.5 percent between 1997-98 and 1998-99, with a ten-year increase of 125.8 percent.

In the 14 Doctoral Universities I and II, average tuition and fees increased by 4 percent between 1997-98 and 1998-99. The ten-year increase in tuition and fees for Doctoral Universities I was 66.8 percent; it was 93.1 percent for Doctoral Universities II.

Among the 41 Comprehensive Universities and Colleges I, average tuition and fees for resident undergraduate students increased by 1.1 percent between 1997-98 and 1998-99 with a ten-year change of nearly 105 percent.

At the 17 Baccalaureate Colleges II, average tuition and fees increased 4 percent between 1997-98 and 1998-99. Between 1988-89 and 1998-99, the increase was nearly 91 percent.

Introduction
Public Two-Year Colleges
Policy Implications
Conclusion

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