An Analysis of Student Fees: The Roles of States and Institutions

Student fees make up 20% of the total cost of tuition and fees at the typical four-year public, yet little research has been conducted to examine institutional-level and state-level factors that may affect student fee charges. I use panel data to find that institutional selectivity and athletics spending do not influence student fee levels. However, tuition caps and gubernatorial control of fees are associated with increased fees and the presence of a fee cap, coordinating board authority over setting fees, and the presence of a Republican governor are associated with lower fee levels.