As college tuition rises and family income declines nationwide, schools such as Dickinson are forced to find new ways to subsidize their tuition to meet students’ financial needs.

Dickinson’s average discount rate is expected to increase this year with the incoming first-year class, continuing a trend that has been on the rise since 2011, according to both Dickinson admissions data from 2011-2015 and Stefanie Niles, vice president for Enrollment, Marketing and Communications.

The average discount rate refers to the rate that the college subsidizes its tuition through financial aid, grant money or other forms of aid. Since 2011, Dickinson’s average discount rate has shown a steady increase, rising from 35 percent in 2011 to 42.8 percent in 2015 according to Dickinson admissions data from 2011-2015 and Niles.

The current average discount rate for first-years is 45.8, however this may shift over the summer, according to Niles.

“If tuition was $50,000, and a student received a $25,000 grant, they would have a 50 percent discount rate,” Niles said. “We compute an average discount rate for both the first-year class and for the total student body.  The discount rate has increased steadily for the last several years.”

But even as Dickinson’s average discount rate rises, the rates for both the first-year class and the total student body lie below the nationwide average. In 2014, Dickinson’s average discount rate was around 40 percent, while the average for institutions of Dickinson’s size was around 49.1 percent, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).

This current nationwide trend can be attributed to the current economic situation many families face, along with rising costs of tuition and student debt nationwide.

“This [trend] is not unique to Dickinson; as family incomes across the nation are stagnating, and the cost of college increases, more families need financial assistance to attend, therefore the discount rate has risen,” says Niles.

So far, there has been no immediate impact from the increasing discount rate, says Niles. But, if the trend continues, Dickinson could see itself unable to support all of its operating budget, negatively impacting its educational programming efforts. Already, Dickinson is undergoing a reorganization of its admissions office, hiring more staff members in hopes of creating greater visibility for Dickinson in new geographic areas, Niles stated in an email to faculty.

But along with rising tuition costs and nationwide economic stagnation, Dickinson is also seeing its average discount rate increase due to a commitment to diversity on campus.

“[The] goal of increasing our racial and ethnic diversity leads to an increased discount rate, as the level of financial aid required to meet need is often enhanced. This is also generally true, of course, for first generation college students, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, all of whom are desirable for the diversity they contribute to our student body,” said Niles in an April 5 memo to faculty.

However, to financially support their operating budget, Dickinson needs to make sure that the students they admit contribute enough revenue to the college to financially support the education experience Dickinson offers. One way that Niles brought up as to how Dickinson can continue diversifying its student body in the face of an increasing average discount rate is to urge donors to use their gifts to the benefit of the financial aid budget. This would offset the costs associated with an increasing discount rate and allow Dickinson to admit more students with financial need. Currently, however, there are no plans to reduce the amount of financial aid given out.