The influence of prices on graduate student persistence

The topic of how prices influence graduate student persistence has seldom been examined. Using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 1987 to examine the influence of prices on within-year persistence by graduate students, this analysis indicates that graduate students, especially those enrolled in public institutions, are responsive to tuition charges in their persistence decisions. The major implication of this finding is that universities should examine the potential impact of price changes on graduate student persistence when they consider tuition increases each year.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Eighth Annual NASSGP/NCHELP Research Network Conference, March 21, 1991, San Francisco, CA.