Trustees approve tuition and fee increase of 3.3% for in-state freshmen, freeze rate for four years

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of a story originally published on July 9, 2019.

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees voted today to increase tuition and fees for incoming Ohio freshmen by 3.3%, which equates to a $358 change from last year’s rate.

The new rate will then be frozen for four years for these students, who are the third class to join the university under the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee. The university will also increase aid packages by $358 so that students with high financial need are unaffected by the change.

The tuition guarantee provides students with predictability about college costs by locking in-state tuition, mandatory fees, housing and dining for each incoming class of undergraduate students from Ohio. The past two entering classes are part of the guarantee, so their costs will be unchanged from their first year at Ohio State.

“We speak often of affordability, access and excellence, and we think all the time about making the university experience affordable for the citizens of Ohio,” President Michael V. Drake said. “The value comes from the quality of the education that we provide and the quality of the opportunities that we provide, and affordability and access are important to make sure that that great value is available to our students.”

The university has also continued to freeze tuition for Ohio students who arrived prior to the guarantee program at a rate that has been frozen since 2012-13. This will be the fifth straight graduating class that never experienced an in-state tuition increase.

Ohio State has placed a strategic emphasis on access, affordability and excellence. Since 2015, the university has devoted more than $150 million to increase support for low- and moderate-income Ohioans. Through the end of the coming academic year, an estimated 42,000 Buckeye families will have benefited from three new or expanded financial aid programs:

• The Buckeye Opportunity Program, which ensures that financial aid covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for Ohio students who qualify for federal Pell Grants.
• President’s Affordability Grants, which support more than 15,000 students annually at all Ohio State campuses.
• Land Grant Opportunity Scholarships, which have been expanded to cover the full cost of attendance and doubled to 176 scholarships each year.

Ohio State is also expanding its CarmenBooks program, which provides digital textbooks to students at a deeply discounted rate — often 80% less expensive than traditional texts. A year-long pilot that is continuing through autumn semester is expected to save students more than $1 million.

More than 13,000 incoming students — including first-year students at all Ohio State campuses — will also receive iPad learning technology suites this year through the university’s Digital Flagship initiative, a collaboration with Apple. More than 11,000 undergraduates received iPads last year, bringing the second-year total for this student success initiative to more than 24,000 devices.

The university’s tuition and fees proposals for 2019-20 reflect the current language in the biennial state budget, which is being finalized by the Ohio General Assembly. If approved by the board, Ohio State’s in-state tuition and fees would remain at the median for public Big Ten schools.

In Columbus, in-state tuition and fees would total $11,084 per year through 2022-23 for incoming first-year students. Including the most common housing and dining plans, the total rate for these students would be $23,792.

At regional campuses, in-state tuition and fees for incoming students would be set at $7,912 for the Lima, Mansfield, Marion and Newark campuses and $7,874 at the Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster. Most regional campus students do not live on campus.

For Ohio students on the Columbus campus who arrived prior to the guarantee program, in-state tuition and fees total $10,037.

Additional tuition and fee proposals include:

• The non-resident surcharge would increase 4.8% for undergraduates.
• Housing and dining rates would increase by 2.2% for incoming students and remain frozen for those in the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee. The most popular plans on the Columbus campus would cost $12,708, compared with $12,434 for students who entered last year.
• Student health insurance, which covers the cost of third-party health coverage, would increase 2%. Most U.S. students utilize private insurance instead of obtaining coverage through the university.