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Empirical research on the effects of price rises on college attendance is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the validity and usefulness of an approach to postsecondary pricing increasingly being employed in the public sector. This approach, which is labeled the targeted subsidy approach, stresses that greater equity and fiscal efficiency result from moves away from low tuition policies toward higher tuition levels and higher levels of student aid funding. The evidence suggests that responsible movement toward a targeted subsidization financing scheme should not appreciably affect enrollment rates in the long run. The view that significant tuition rises necessarily threaten equality of educational opportunity is labeled as myth. Although the value of the targeted subsidy approach is generally upheld by the review, caveats are suggested regarding three of its central assumptions: the rational actor assumption, the "ceteris paribus" assumption, and the "efficient delivery" assumption. Suggestions for further research focus on the need for greater knowledge regarding individuals' processing of information as they make their college-going decisions. A 10-page bibliography is appended. (SW)

The impact of a new policy in Minnesota that raised college tuition while also increasing state student aid funding was studied. A literature review examines the influence of economic, psychological, sociological, and cultural factors on student attendance patterns. In addition to access, choice, and persistence, the study considered educational expectations and plans as important aspects of college attendance. Specific concerns were: (1) whether financial factors affected high school juniors' plans to attend college; (2) actual enrollment; (3) college choice; and (4) the quality of aid packages for needy students. The study utilized data gathered about high school juniors in 1979, 1981, and 1983 via the Students Plans and Background Survey of the Minnesota Post-High School Planning Program (the base number for each cohort was 1,000 students). Follow-up data were obtained from 400 students per cohort via questionnaire/telephone survey. Results include the following: (1) financial factors appeared to negligibly influence the college plans and expectations of high school students; (2) high school achievements and previous expectations for college attendance were the most influential enrollment influences; (3) while financial issues did influence college choice, academic factors were primary influences; and (4) the adequacy of aid packages for independent students declined. Numerous tables and figures and an eight-page reference list are provided; study questionnaires are appended. (SW)

A study compared states' approaches to pricing and discounting, via student aid, of undergraduate education. Results suggest that region, social and economic resources, and postsecondary governance arrangements each have distinctive connections to the nature of state tuition and aid policies. Of particular interest were results relating to high-tuition/high-aid policies ("rationalization"), concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest. (Author/MSE)