Colleges have traditionally charged all students the same tuition, but perhaps that’s going to change.

In today’s Martin Center article, Joe Pitts looks at the pros and cons of differential tuition (DT), whereby students are charged different tuition levels depending on major.

He writes:

Universities are adopting DT for several reasons. For one, paying at the program level reduces if not eliminates the cross-subsidization implicit in charging a flat rate for all programs. No longer would lower-cost degree recipients pay a ‘premium’ that partially funds more expensive degree programs. You get what you pay for.

Sounds like a reasonable practice, and it appears to better align college students with financial incentives.

Read the whole thing.