Strategic Plan Aims to Maintain Affordability for Students
For the first time since 1973, students attending Cedarville University will see no tuition increase next academic year. This decision is part of a long-term strategy by the University to keep tuition affordable for current and future students while continuing to offer competitive financial aid opportunities. Thomas White, Ph.D., the University’s new president, shared the no-tuition-increase announcement with faculty and staff on Thursday and with the student body at today’s chapel.
“As I have studied the rising cost of higher education, I have become increasingly concerned that a Christian university like Cedarville may be becoming less of an option because of cost,” said White. “I see students graduating with higher debt, and this could limit their ability to fulfill the God-given calling placed on their lives. I am committed to a long-term strategy that keeps Cedarville affordable for families.”
This strategy is expected to continue Cedarville’s long history of enrollment growth, including this fall’s record enrollment of 3,459 undergraduate and graduate students.
Cedarville offers $21.7 million in student financial aid. Last year, 98 percent of new freshmen received financial aid with the average package being $17,526. The package included institutional, state, and federal scholarships and grants, student loans, and federal work study. Tuition is $26,220.
According to a Bloomberg report comparing percentage increases (since 1985) of college costs, health care, gasoline, shelter, and the consumer price index, the growth in the cost of a college degree led the way. In the report, the cost of a college education increased 538 percent compared to health care’s rising 286 percent.
“I’d like to congratulate Cedarville University on its announcement of a zero percent tuition increase for the 2014-15 school year,” said John Carey, chancellor for the Ohio Board of Regents. “This shows that
Cedarville recognizes the importance of keeping a college education affordable, and it demonstrates a commitment to Ohio’s students. I am proud to have Cedarville as a higher education partner because their efforts are important to achieving the goal of having 60 percent of Ohioans with a post-secondary degree or certificate by 2020.”
“It is very important to me that everyone who wants to receive a Cedarville University degree gets that opportunity,” said White. “Cedarville equips students for personal and professional excellence with a gospel purpose, and our world needs men and women who fulfill their God-given calling with conviction.”
Cedarville University, located east of Dayton, Ohio, has 3,459 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 100 areas of study. A Baptist university of arts, sciences, professional and graduate programs, Cedarville is recognized nationally for rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings.
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