ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio University trustees are softening the blow of hefty tuition and campus housing increases for new students next year...
Ohio University trustees are softening the blow of hefty tuition and campus housing increases for new students next year by guaranteeing the rates won't rise again during the students' four years on campus.Tuition for new students would go up 5.1 percent under the plan, with increases of 5.3 percent for campus housing and 1.5 percent for meal plans.
Total annual costs under the plan are $22,400, The Columbus Dispatch reported Friday.
The deal is part of the university's "Ohio Guarantee," a four-year tuition freeze announced last year to help remove uncertainty over college costs.
The guarantee is the first offered by one of the state's 13 public colleges and universities, though some private colleges have similar guarantees, such as Hiram University in northeastern Ohio and the University of Dayton, the newspaper reported. Ohio University's approach differs because it covers more than tuition.
Capital, Ohio Christian, Otterbein and Wittenberg universities are among private schools with tuition freezes, said C. Todd Jones, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio.
In addition, both Ohio Northern University and Ashland University announced huge cuts in tuition in 2013.
The plan means new students next fall will pay $11,548 in tuition, compared with $10,748 paid by returning students whose tuition goes up 2 percent. The university says the bills would balance out over four years because students not paying the guaranteed rate would also pay $1,896 more over four years in extra fees not currently included in tuition. Those same fees are wrapped into the locked-in rate.
Whether the plan offers a long-term deal for new students depends on the upcoming state budget and whether lawmakers keep a 2 percent cap, raise it or lower it.
A mandate setting tuition increases below 2 percent would mean new Ohio University students would be locked in at higher rates than students at other schools.
Trustee David Wolfort questioned raising tuition so much when the university's finances are relatively good. Several dozen students protested the guarantee and the plan to raise tuition by 2 percent for returning students.
"We see a nauseating lack of effort to put accessibility in higher education as any kind of a priority," said Megan Marzec, president of the OU Student Senate.
The university has received about 18,800 applications, up a few hundred from this point last year, said president Roderick McDavis.
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