Students and parents of students at Tusculum College welcomed good news when it was announced in October that there will be no increase in tuition and room and board fees for Tusculum College students in the 2015-16 year.
Members of the Tusculum College Board of Trustees voted to freeze fees for the upcoming year at their fall meeting on the Greeneville campus.
“We are pleased that tuition, room and board at Tusculum College will remain at the same rate,” said President Nancy B. Moody. “It is our challenge and our duty to control costs for our students to the best of our ability.”
The tuition freeze will be applied to both the residential and the Graduate and Professional Studies programs. Students from both programs have responded positively.
Tusculum’s efforts support an initiative of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities that show private, non-profit, four-year colleges and universities in Tennessee are committed to holding down student debt.
Students at these institutions across Tennessee will see a modest increase in tuition and fees next year, and they will continue to pay thousands of dollars less than students attending similar institutions in most other states.
Average undergraduate tuition and fees for 2015-16 at the member institutions of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association will increase by 2.95 percent, the lowest such increase in more than a decade.
“TICUA institutions are steadfast in their commitment to educational opportunity and choice,” said Dr. Gary Weedman, Chair of TICUA Board of Directors and President of Johnson University. “Our institutions are affordable. In addition, we provide generous financial aid, making it possible for students to attend the college or university that best fits their individual needs.”
Through their commitment to provide affordable access to higher education, TICUA institutions serve many low-income students. Approximately 91 percent of first-time, full-time students attending private, non-profit colleges and universities in the State receive some form of financial support. The majority (75%) of this aid comes directly from the 34 college and university members of TICUA, of which Tusculum College is one.
The State of Tennessee provides another 13 percent and the federal government the remaining 12 percent of the aid.
More than 42 percent of Tennesseans attending TICUA institutions receive the federal Pell Grant, targeted to support students from low-income families.
The State’s need-based aid program, the Tennessee Student Assistance Award provided $21.1 million to more than 5,400 low-income students attending TICUA member institutions.
Thousands of TICUA member institution students also benefit from the State’s education lottery program. In the 2014-15 academic year, more than 12,000 students attending private colleges and universities participated in the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship award program, which provided more than $54.7 million in grant aid to students at private colleges and universities.
“It is important to recognize that almost every student attending a TICUA member campus receives some form of financial aid either from the state or federal government or, more typically, directly from the institution,” said Dr. Claude Pressnell, President of TICUA. “When you combine institutional, state, and federal aid, the actual price paid by students can be substantially lower than the published price.”
For academic year 2015-16, the average published tuition and fees, not including room and board, for undergraduate students attending a TICUA member private, non- profit, four-year institution in Tennessee will be $24,190 per year. This is expected to be considerably lower than the national average. Last year (academic year 2014-15), average tuition at Tennessee’s private, non-profit, four-year institutions was 25 percent less than the national average. After considering the contribution of financial aid, many students ultimately pay significantly less than the either the national or southern regional averages.