Questioning Conventional Wisdom on Tuition Increases

Fitch Ratings, which analyzes some colleges' credit worthiness, on Friday released an analysis challenging the idea that tuition increases are doing damage to many Americans' ability to enroll, and to higher education generally. "[T]he increase in cost of attendance at U.S. colleges and universities, which began during the mid-1990s and accelerated through the end of the past decade, has not yet had a meaningful impact on enrollment at most institutions," the ratings service said. "The lack of a negative enrollment trend, we believe, underscores fundamentally robust societal demand for postsecondary education and the non-discretionary nature of a college degree."