Vision matters: exploring the architecture and role of perceptual frames on the tuition reset decision process at a private monprofit U.S. college.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20350245

Tuition resets alter a college's published tuition price and institutional discount in order to increase net revenue and to make enrollment at the reset institution more appealing and psychologically accessible to a greater percentage of the market. This research employs a case study methodology to examine the internal and market perceptions that stimulated a 2018-2019 academic year tuition reset at a private, nonprofit college and examines the ways in which those perceptions were and were not validated by the reset's resulting outcomes for enrollment and revenue. The data was drawn from interviews with the authors of the reset and other highly-placed leaders and decision-makers as well as from institutional documents, recruitment materials, and outcomes information provided to the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Three key findings emerged from this study: (1) loss aversion was overweighed in the strategy and its implementation, primarily but not solely because of its multiple manifestations throughout the decision frame, (2) peer-competitor market reference points and reputation had a strong influence on the final form of the strategy, and (3) the linguistic frames of tuition resets are themselves problematic. Utilizing the findings from this study, several implications for practice are proposed to assist institutions considering engaging a strategy of tuition reset.--Author's abstract