According to the West Virginia University Extension Service, a land-grant institution is identified by its state legislature, and receives benefits outlined in the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The Morrill Acts gave universities an opportunity to teach agriculture, military tactics and mechanical arts in addition to the classical studies. It was the first step in giving the working class the opportunity for higher education. Federal monies are given to land grant institutions, but often have to be matched by the individual college or university.
Private universities are those not supported by government money and rely strictly on tuition and money from donors to keep their institutions afloat. According to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, private universities come in many forms, including religious institutions, historically black colleges, single-sex universities, research universities and liberal arts colleges.
Tuition at public land grant universities vary by the institution. At Michigan State University, a land-grant university, tuition ranges from $345 to $405 per credit hour, and can total about $10,000 a year for a full-time student. According to the National Association for Independent Colleges and Universities, the average tuition cost at private universities for the 2007 to 2008 academic year was $23,712.
Michigan State University, which was the prototype for land-grant institutions, boasts an enrollment of just more than 47,000 students. Of those, about 37,000 are undergraduate students and an additional 10,000 are graduate students obtaining higher degrees. The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities attests that enrollment varies at private colleges, with some having fewer than 100 students and others having more than 30,000.
On almost any college campus, a student will find an eclectic group of people attending the institution. According to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, private universities have about a 29 percent minority enrollment rate, with most public universities having about a 27 percent minority enrollment rate. In addition, students from a wide variety of incomes attend both private and public universities. About 14 percent of private and public university enrollment comes from families who make $25,000 or less. About 23 percent of private university enrollment is from families who make under $50,000, with 24 percent of public university enrollment coming from families who make under $50,000.