The Impact of Tuition Increases on Undocumented College Students' Schooling Decisions

This paper examines the effect of a short-lived increase in tuition rates on undocumented college students' schooling decisions. In the spring of 2002, the City University of New York (CUNY) reversed its policy of charging in-state tuition rates to undocumented college students who could demonstrate that they migrated to New York at a relatively young age. The policy was in place for exactly one semester; by fall 2002, the New York legislature restored the in-state tuition policy for eligible undocumented youth. I use this unique policy context to examine the impact of tuition increases on undocumented students' schooling choices, including whether to remain enrolled or to disenroll for a semester ("stopout") and whether to enroll part-time instead of full-time. The data are provided by CUNY and the empirical models estimate the difference between documented and undocumented students in fall 2002 relative to earlier and later semesters. The results suggest that the removal of in-state tuition caused undocumented students in the bachelor's degree programs to stopout of school and shift from full-time to part-time enrollment. The findings provide strong evidence that college costs can have a large impact on the collegiate outcomes of undocumented students who have already chosen to attend college and, perhaps more generally, the outcomes of price sensitive college students, including those from low-income backgrounds. Figures are appended.