Free US Law Dictionary

Tuition

Tuition means instruction or teaching. In American English, the term tuition is often used to refer to a fee charged for educational instruction; especially at a formal institution of learning or by a private tutor usually in the form of one-to-one tuition. This article uses the latter meaning of the term.

Tuition is charged by educational institutions in some countries to assist with funding of staff and faculty, course offerings, lab equipment, computer systems, libraries, facility upkeep and to provide a comfortable student learning experience.

Some methods students use to pay tuition include:

• Scholarships
• Bursaries
• Grants
• Parents' money
• Their own savings
• Government student loans
• Financial institution loans
• Educational institution loans
• Company funding

Most students who pay for tuition have fees that are greater than their savings. Thus, some students have to take part time jobs and/or take out loans. Those who take part time jobs worry about handling both the course load and working. Those who take out loans have to ensure they are able to repay or else risk bad credit ratings.

Students have private tuition for any one of a number of reasons:

• To improve grades
• To get into a particular school, college or university
• To assist with Special Needs
• To undertake corporate training for their company
• General improvement (adult learners)

Developed countries have adopted a dual scheme for education: while basic (i.e. high-school) education is supported by taxes rather than tuition, higher education is usually given for a fee or tuition.