Did the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program Cause Out-of-State Tuition to Increase?

The District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG) program is a federally funded financial aid program that allows District residents to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities throughout the United States. One potential side effect of this program is that colleges and universities that enroll meaningful numbers of D.C. residents may have incentives to increase out-of-state tuition rates. We test this hypothesis empirically. Our preferred specification suggests that there is little evidence that colleges and universities that enroll a high percentage of out-of-state students from D.C. increased out-of-state tuition in response to the DCTAG program.