In America, Tuition Is the Bill
Tuition means teaching in British English and fees in American English. The same word, two entirely different things to pay attention to.
Tuition means instruction, especially individual or small-group teaching. American English uses it for the fee charged for that instruction, which produces genuine confusion: a British student receiving tuition is being taught, while an American student paying tuition is being billed. British universities split the difference with *tuition fees*.
- Teaching (British). *Private tuition.*
- Fees for teaching (American). *Tuition has risen again.*
- Tuition fees — the British compound. *Tuition fees are capped.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tuition | One-to-one tuition. |
| Person | tutor | A private tutor. |
| Verb | tutor | Tutor two evenings a week. |
| Noun | tutorial | A weekly tutorial. |
| Related | tuition fees | Rising tuition fees. |
How it is used in a sentence
- He gets extra tuition in maths.British: teaching.
- Tuition and housing come to a large sum.American: costs.
- Tuition fees were introduced in 1998.In English universities.
Teaching arrangements
- Tuition — instruction, usually individual or in small groups
- Tutorial — a small teaching session
- Supervision — the Cambridge term for the same thing
- Seminar — a larger discussion group
- Lecture — one speaker to many
From Latin *tuitionem*, protection or guardianship, from *tueri*, to watch over — the same root as *tutor*, originally a guardian rather than a teacher.
Tuition or tuition fees?
In Britain tuition is the teaching and tuition fees the charge. In America tuition alone means the charge.
Why does *tutor* mean guardian in law?
Because the Latin *tutor* was a protector of a minor. The teaching sense came from the guardian's duty to educate.