A tuition freeze is when a zero increase for tuition rates or the cost of attendance for an academic year is guaranteed. This government policy restricts higher education institutions from implementing tuition fee increase.
Implications of Tuition Freeze: Is It For The Best?
Benefits of Tuition Freeze
Colleges That Freeze Tuition
Purdue University
Idaho State University
Southern New Hampshire University
DePaul University
Whittier College
Boise State University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Francis Marion University
William & Mary
University of Cincinnati
At OnlineSchoolsCenter.com, we understand that the cost of tuition is a major factor in choosing the right school for yourself. Below you will find useful information about Tuition Freeze; however, check out these links as well to help you get the most for your hard-earned money: 24 Online Schools with The Same In-State and Out-Of-State Tuition for 2020, and A Student’s Guide To College Tuition, Tuition-Free Colleges and Universities 2020.
Implications of Tuition Freeze: Is It For The Best?
In 2019, tuition freezes became popular across the United States. That same year, Virginia and Pennsylvania declared tuition freezes to ease students’ financial burden. If you’re a resident of either Nebraska, Washington, Arizona, Texas, California, Rhode Island, Iowa, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, or Minnesota, you’ll probably find a college or university that offers tuition freezes in the next academic year or any given academic period.
States offering tuition freezes run into problems when the funds run low. With public funds being limited due to the recession or economic turmoil over the past years, the funds provided to public colleges and universities have been reduced in several states. When that happens, colleges and universities are forced to increase their tuition rates again, sometimes higher than usual.
Numerous states have adopted different policies when it comes to tuition freezes. For example, a university in Minnesota guarantees its undergraduates with a freeze in tuition fees for two years, given that the government will provide $92M to that specific school at the time. Some states such as Illinois and Kansas have locked rates for tuition. Students pay the same tuition fee for the rest of their four-year attendance with a college or university.
Benefits of Tuition Freeze
The primary advantage of having a tuition freeze is reduced tuition expenses for students. It allows students to focus on service opportunities, internships, mission trips, research work, and other supplemental initiatives without worrying about financing their courses.
As student debt rises in the U.S., it only makes sense to consider tuition freezes as you pursue or advance in your degree. It is ideal for low-income parents and students but also benefits all students regardless of their economic status or financial background.
To avoid paying for additional expenses as you progress in your degree program, consider colleges or universities that freeze their tuition. This list consists of those that offer tuition freezes in the next school year or longer.
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
Pioneering the tuition freeze trend is Purdue University, which has been freezing tuition fees since 2013. Purdue’s tuition fees have remained flat for almost a decade now. This is Purdue’s strategy of investing in education and in people: students enjoy tuition freeze from the time they enroll in a program up until they successfully earn the degree. As a result, more students are interested in pursuing a degree at Purdue University and more employers choose graduates from the said university. Consequently, roughly 59% of Purdue graduates are debt-free upon graduation, surpassing the national average of 43% for the academic year 2018-2019. Purdue’s West Lafayette campus implements a zero-increase policy for its room and board.
Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID
Considered as the only university in Idaho to observe the tuition lock initiative, Idaho State University has a tuition lock program that helps its students avoid yearly increases in their tuition. Implemented in 2016, the tuition lock applies to all ISU degree programs. Qualified first-year college students are guaranteed the same tuition fee until they complete their four-year program. Offered exclusively to Idaho residents, ISU’s tuition lock program applies to tuition fees only and doesn’t include technology fees, facility fees, class fees, activity fees, and miscellaneous fees. If you fail to meet the criteria to be eligible for ISU’s tuition lock program, you will pay the current tuition fee for the semester you are enrolled.
Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, NH
With a commitment to provide more affordable and accessible education for learners around the world, the Southern New Hampshire University has adopted the tuition freeze program for its on-campus and distance learning programs until 2021. The university stopped its tuition increase in 2012 for online programs and 2017 for on-campus courses. The tuition freeze applies to undergraduate and graduate programs at SNHU. According to SNHU’s CEO and President, Paul LeBlanc, SNHU thrives on keeping the cost of higher education more reasonable with access to high-quality learning pathways for all learners.
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
As a means to ease the economic turmoil that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, DePaul University has decided to freeze its tuition fees for the academic year 2020-2021 for incoming and current students. On top of the tuition freeze initiative, the university offers support through its $266M financial assistance pool. Initially, DePaul University had announced in early 2020 that a tuition increase was on the horizon; however, in light of the global disruption, the Chicago-based university has decided to freeze the tuition at current rates across its 10 major colleges and schools. It’s the first time after more than 20 years that DePaul University has adapted the freeze in tuition fees for its student community.
Recommended Schools
Whittier College
Whittier, CA
Whittier College announced its tuition freeze program for Fall 2020 for incoming and current undergraduate and graduate students. According to the school, freezing the tuition rates allows them to encourage more students to become part of their academic community without the added cost. Aside from the tuition freeze initiative, the school is launching a fundraising program on developing new scholarships for students with financial constraints. Before freezing tuition rates, Whittier College increased its fees by 3% in recent years and generated $43M financial aid funding for the academic year 2018-2019.
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Boise State University
Boise, ID
Boise State University is one of the public universities in Idaho to declare a freeze in in-state undergraduate tuition for 2020-2021. Undergraduates will continue to pay $4,034 per semester. This decision is a result of a joint initiative among university presidents in Idaho in an effort to give more affordable access to a quality college education. Boise State’s tuition freeze was in response to the governor’s call for all Idaho agencies to prepare for probable 1% budget cut for the current fiscal year, as well as the 2% cuts beginning in the next fiscal year.
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio Wesleyan University has canceled its proposed 3% tuition increase for the school year 2020-2021. As a means to support their students in these tough times, the university has announced its tuition freeze initiative for 2020-2021. All in-state, out-of-state, and international students of OWU will pay $46,870 in tuition fees, the same rate as the previous year. The majority of students will pay approximately $1,410 less for their educational expenses during Fall 2020; however, it depends entirely on their choice of room and board. Aside from a freeze in tuition, 99% of OWU students receive merit or need-based financial assistance to reduce their educational expenses. Ohio Wesleyan University has granted almost $14M in scholarships and university-funded grants to these learners.
Francis Marion University
Florence, SC
Hailed as one of the country’s most affordable higher education institutions, Francis Marion University is one of South Carolina’s state universities that froze their tuition and student fees in the 2019-2020 academic. Once again, FMU is the first university in the state to announce its tuition freeze extension plans for 2020-2021 to offer high educational value at a low net cost. Pending approval from FMU’s Board of Trustees, the tuition freeze program will have full-time, in-state students paying only $5,192 per semester for the said academic year.
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
In the academic year 2019-2020, the William & Mary educational institution is freezing its tuition for incoming in-state undergraduates. In effect, they will be paying the same rates as the 2018-2019 classes did. Through the William & Mary Promise, in-state students will pay $18,375 throughout their full four-year program of their choice. The tuition for current in-state undergraduates that were enrolled in fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019 have not increased either.
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH
In 2019, the University of Cincinnati adopted its tuition freeze program for the 5th consecutive year for existing undergraduates. Current in-state undergraduates at U.C.’s Uptown campus who are attending full-time studies have paid a flat-rate of $11,000 annually. Aside from its tuition freeze, U.C. has developed a Cincinnati Tuition Guarantee. This cohort-based policy ensures that undergraduate degree-granting programs will freeze tuition specific to each school year. The Board of Trustees sets all undergraduate students’ tuition, fees, and room and board for each year’s cohort.
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