The administration at a certain

Answer choices

1. A

   No Impact3% picked this

   With this year’s budget, the university has increased its total spending on scholarship aid

   This goes in the wrong direction, for our author, since scholarship aid did go up. Now naturally we know that the increase in scholarship aid was predominantly from academics-based aid, not need-based aid, but we got that from the existing premise. This answer itself isn't adding anything helpful to us. It isn't providing a different reason for the tuition increase, and it's not adding a new fact that makes us less likely to think the tuition increase came from more scholarship money to needs-based students.

   3%
2. B

   Weakens, if anything7% picked this

   With this year’s budget, the university increased the allotment for faculty salaries by 5 percent while tuition was

   The fact that the tuition went up (6%) by more than faculty salaries went up (5%) shows that the tuition increase is not fully explained by increased spending on faculty salaries. But it could still be largely explained by increased spending on faculty salaries, since the uptick in salary spending nearly matches the uptick in tuition. And the author was never saying that the uptick in tuition was wholly explained by spending on faculty salaries, just partially explained by it.

   7%
3. C

   Weakens8% picked this

   Faculty salaries at the university have increased in line with the national average, and substantial cuts in government student-loan programs have caused financial difficulties

   Both ideas mentioned here boost the plausibility of the administration's explanation. The fact that salaries have increased supports the idea of increased spending on faculty salaries. And the fact that the government has yanked some scholarship money to students who clearly need it (they are having financial difficulties without that aid) suggests that there was good reason for the university to potentially increase spending on need-based aid.

   8%
4. D

   Correct80% picked this

   Of the substantial items in the budget, the greatest increase was in administrative costs, facilities maintenance costs, and costs associated with

   Why this is right

   This strengthens the author's conclusion that "the increase in tuition was not due to higher spending on salaries and need-based it" by pointing to a potential Alternate Explanation for why tuition went up. The author can say, "Faculty salaries aren't a significant part of the budget. Meanwhile, admin costs, facilities maintenance, and athletics facilities are all major parts of the budget that increased. Thus, they are probably the main reason for the increase in tuition."

   Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   80%
5. E

   No Impact3% picked this

   Because enrollment projections at the university are very unreliable, it is difficult to accurately estimate the amount of money the university will collect

   The fact that it's hard to estimate how much money will come in from tuition fees doesn't have anything to do with this argument. This is a constant factor, not a variable one that affects this year differently from previous years. We can't use this answer to support an Alternate Explanation for why tuition increased. And we can't use this answer to diminish the plausibility that the tuition increase related to faculty salaries or need-based aid.

   3%