13
May
2010
|
18:00 PM
America/New_York

Ohio State trustees approve tuition raise

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Board of Trustees today approved a two-part increase in tuition for Columbus campus undergraduates beginning with a 3.5 percent increase for the upcoming Summer Quarter. An additional 3.5 percent increase will take effect beginning Fall Quarter for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The Summer Quarter increase includes the student activity fee, which was increased during Winter Quarter 2010.

The increase marks the end of a three-year freeze that kept Ohio State’s undergraduate resident tuition at the 2006-2007 level of $8,406. The increase will bring the Columbus campus instructional fees for full-time resident undergraduates to $8,994 – a 7 percent increase.

Although most other Ohio public selective admissions universities had already increased tuition by 3.5 percent (the state-mandated cap) for the current 2009-2010 academic year, Ohio State continued the freeze through Spring Quarter as part of its pledge to the university’s Students First program to hold off increases as long as possible during times of economic stress.

“Continuing the tuition freeze until the academic year ended saved our students and their families some $12 million,” said Geoffrey Chatas, university senior vice president and chief financial officer. “We are aware that a tuition increase will be an added financial burden to many of our students, so we are proportionally increasing financial aid so that we can continue to maintain access for qualified students.”

Chatas emphasized that, even when the increases are factored in, the tuition increase averages out to the lowest four-year tuition increase at Ohio State in more than 50 years (1951-1955).

“Ohio State continues to offer outstanding value for our students. Of the state’s six public selective admissions universities, only Kent State has lower tuition. In addition, more than 80 percent of our students receive financial aid in the form of grants, not loans,” Chatas said.

The board also approved a 3.5 percent increase for Summer Quarter followed by another 3.5 percent increase for the 2010-2011 academic year for undergraduates enrolled at the university’s regional campuses and the Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI). Instructional fees for most graduate students will increase 1 percent for Summer Quarter and 3.5 percent for the 2010-2011 academic year, as will the non-resident surcharge for undergraduates and most graduate students.