Hey
Taulark1Happy to help.
That's a negative! Let's understand why by first looking at the correct version of the sentence:
According to a 1996 survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, more than three times as many independent institutions of higher education charge tuition and fees of under $8,000 a year as charge over $16,000.
What we have above is a case of
Ellipsis. The repetitive words have been omitted. If we re-insert those words, we get:
According to a 1996 survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, more than three times as many
independent institutions of higher education charge tuition and fees of under $8,000 a year as (
independent institutions of higher education)
charge over $16,000.
So, the idea follows the pattern:
As many Xs do P as (Xs) do Q.Salient Observations:
a. The verbs in both clauses must be in the simple present: "
charge". If we change "charge" to "charging", we ruin the parallelism and distort the meaning.
b. The aspect of comparison is "how much institutions charge".
Now, coming to your version of the sentence:
According to a 1996 survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, more than three times as many independent institutions of higher education as
those charging fees over $16,000 charge tuition and fees of under $8,000 a year.
a. The first blatant error is the use of 'charging' instead of 'charge'.
b. The second gross error is the awkward construction. The second 'as' has been inserted before the verb 'charge' of the first clause. This not only makes the sentence confusing, it also places the verbs (charge) of both clauses one after another, causing even more confusion. This construction is not rhetorical.
For these reasons, this version will not work.
I hope this helps improve your understanding.
Happy Learning!
Abhishek