Ohio University’s Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase of 3.5 percent at its January meeting, marking the first time in four years the tuition rate has changed.
This change brings the cost of tuition and fees for all incoming, in-state undergraduate students from $6,096 to $6,306 per semester for the upcoming academic year. Returning students who had enrolled after 2015 will continue to pay the same cost of tuition as their first year due to OU’s Ohio Guarantee, in which first year students pay a fixed tuition rate that remains in effect for four years.
Deborah Shaffer, vice president for finance and administration, said the main reason for the tuition increase is lower enrollment.
The college-bound population in the Midwest specifically is decreasing, Chaden Djalali, executive vice president and provost, said at the meeting.
This trend is driving up the cost of tuition at universities across Ohio that are facing similar problems with decreasing enrollment, according to a previous Post report.
The University of Toledo’s undergraduate tuition will increase to about $5,260, up from about $5,070 for the previous academic year and up nearly $400 from the 2014-2015 academic year.
Miami University’s tuition will also increase by 3.5 percent for the 2019-2020 academic year, taking tuition to about $7,950 per semester for in-state undergraduate students.
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Continuing students on campus will also see a 2 percent increase in tuition for the upcoming academic year.
Miami University’s acceptance rate increased 9% from last year, mainly due to an increase of non-resident students, Bethany Perkins, Miami University director of admissions, said in a June Miami Board of Trustees meeting. There were 4,469 students confirmed to be attending Miami as of June 17. Despite this, the number of applications continues to decline.
Reduced public support for higher education has made tuition the school’s major source of revenue today, which has “resulted in substantial cost increases for students and their families,” according to minutes from a Miami Board of Trustees meeting.
Similar to Miami, the University of Akron reported that enrollment was down about 7 percent. The university estimated tuition and fees would earn $187.5 million, while it only earned $179.4 million
Akron’s tuition also increased from the previous academic year, going up from about $5,760 per undergraduate semester to about $5,800 per semester.
Kent State University had its first tuition increase since at least 2014 for the 2018-2019 academic year. It increased again for the 2019-2020 academic year from about $5,380 per semester to about $5,570 for incoming freshmen. Kent State has a similar program to OU’s Ohio Guarantee, so students will pay the same tuition all four years.
To offset the impact of tuition charges for students, Kent State increased its financial aid pool by up to $2 million for additional grants, Emily Vincent, director of university media relations, said in an email.
Bowling Green State University’s tuition for an in-state undergraduate student is about $5,700 per semester.
This is the first time since the 2011-2012 academic year that Bowling Green has increased their tuition rates, which was about $5,295 at the time, according to financial records.
A previous version of this report incorrectly stated Deborah Shaffer's position, OU's reasoning behind the tuition increase and the graphic has been updated. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.