While the impossibility may seem overwhelming, the debate on tuition should always be geared towards achieving these three ends. The relationship between quality and financial manageability and tuition is fairly clear. Regarding access, the relationship is more unsettled. In the former case, holding external funding constant, a positive relationship should be quite evident. Increases in tuition revenue would logically increase funds available to provide higher quality and a better fiscal position.
Ad ding the issue of access to the equation complicates the connection.
Increasing tuition, such that it harms accessibility to the point where enrollments fall, would decrease revenue and therefore quality. The impact of tuition fees on accessibility is o f great consequence. Our knowledge of the factors impacting students' decisions is so deficient the tuition debate is critically uninfor med. The assumption that student aid can help low income students is highly dubious. It is doubtful that even at current or lower tuition access is secured for low income students.