But it is likely the tuition for the first year is inflated because they know they can’t raise it for the next 4 years for that student. Likely paying higher for first year (or 2) and then the ‘right’ amount for the last two, averaging the ‘correct’ amount over the 4 years. So if someone doesn’t stay all 4 years, they’ve overpaid for the time they were there.
And the tuition is fixed but are the fees, housing, food? One daughter’s tuition went up $2000/yr, but her student fees never did and housing and food actually went down (they really screw the freshmen IMO). Other daughter’s tuition remained low and her fees went up just a little, probably reflecting the actual costs.