Oklahoma City University announced it will keep attendance costs flat for the 2021-22 academic year.
On Jan. 13, OCU posted on their website and sent an email to the campus community stating the tuition cost for the 2021-22 academic year will remain the same as the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on income. This year is the second year in a row OCU has not increased the cost of attendance.
“Tuition, fees, housing and meal costs will remain flat for all undergraduate, master’s, law and doctoral programs,” the announcement read.
Kevin Windholz, vice president for enrollment management and university communications, is quoted in the announcement stating the COVID-19 pandemic put many families through uncertain times.
“We felt it was important that our families and the community have this information to adequately plan for next academic year,” Windholz said.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the tuition of several universities across the U.S. Some institutions decided to give their students discounts for the spring semester, such as Princeton University, which cut their tuition by 10%, and the University of Illinois, which discounted their tuition 25%. However, average cost of tuition for private universities across the U.S. increased by 2.1%, which, according to a study done by the College Board for the 2020-21 academic year, is the lowest increase in the last three decades.
The average cost for a returning undergraduate student to attend OCU during the 2020-21 academic year (which includes tuition, housing, meal plans and general fees) is around $23,745.81 per semester, which totals to about $47,491.62 per academic year. The average amount of academic and departmental scholarship awarded to students in the 2019-20 academic year was about $20,192, which brings the final average cost down to around $27,299.62 per year, or $13,649.81 per semester.
OCU costs $7,388.38 less than the national average for private universities in the U.S., which is $54,880. Compared to public universities, OCU attendance costs almost double the national average of in-state colleges, which costs about $26,820, and about $4,000 more than the average cost of out-of-state public universities, which totals about $43,280.
Cole Fairchild, film freshman, said the cost of attending OCU did have an impact on his college decision.
“I was fortunate enough that I was offered the Clara Luper scholarship, so I paid almost nothing, but had I not been offered that, I don’t think that this school could have ever been a reality for me,” Fairchild said.
Fairchild said he thinks it’s good OCU is keeping the cost of attendance flat for students and hopes they follow through, even if the pandemic becomes less of a worry during the next academic year.
“I think it’s great,” Fairchild said. “I hope that they keep it that way because, I’m assuming that it’s kind of locked in, but if it changes in the next year or so, or in the next coming months, and it’s not as much of a reality next year, I still think it should stay that way.”
Fairchild said he hopes OCU can continue to keep the cost flat for future years but doesn’t think it will happen for any university.
“I would always hope that for every university, but that’s definitely not the reality, and definitely in the recent decades it’s just risen a ton,” Fairchild said.
Kevan Buck, vice president of financial services and chief financial officer, said keeping the tuition flat for the upcoming years isn’t an option.
“It’s difficult for any business to keep fees flat for very long because everything else goes up in price. Whether it’s equipment, computer stuff, you name it, healthcare and utilities, everything obviously goes up every year a little bit,” Buck said. “So, generally running two years without an increase is a huge benefit to the students, but, ultimately, it’s not a sustainable direction.”
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