BOWLING GREEN — The Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees on Friday approved an increase in its tuition guarantee plan, blaming stagnant state funding levels and legislative caps on tuition increases.
The university in December approved the Falcon Tuition Guarantee Plan, which locks in tuition rates for undergraduate students for four years. When the board originally approved the plan, it did not set the tuition rate for incoming freshmen. The first cohort of students that are eligible for the plan will enroll in the fall.
The board unanimously approved an increase in that tuition plan by 5.9 percent, after administrators recommended hiking the cost because of an anticipated tight budget in fiscal year 2019. State legislators have consistently limited or capped tuition and general fees for universities and colleges in recent years, and also kept state aid to higher education institutions flat in the most recent budget bill.
The tuition guarantee plan freezes tuition, fees, and room and board rates for a student’s entire undergraduate career. State law, enacted in 2013, allows state universities to raise tuition if the amount is guaranteed for four years.
The increase to the guarantee means students in the program will pay $26.25 more per credit hour, costing a full-time undergraduate student an additional $315 semester. That brings the annual cost to attend BGSU for students enrolling this fall to $20,388, including room and board costs.
Administrators expect the increase to raise an additional $2.2 million annually.
“At BGSU we have continually strived to keep our educational costs affordable for our students,” BGSU President Rodney Rogers said in a statement. “The Falcton Tuition Guarantee will not only allow families to budget with confidence but will also enable us to continue providing the same high-quality education experience for our students that is the hallmark of a BGSU education.”
The board also approved a six percent increase to its surcharge for out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students, a move administrators expect will raise $1.175 million in revenue for the university.
First Published May 4, 2018, 10:34 p.m.
