Tuition guaranteed or held flat for UC students

Since Fall 2019, each incoming in-state, first-year class has benefited from the University of Cincinnati’s Tuition Guarantee program, which locks in tuition, housing and dining costs for each entering class for full-time four or five-year degree programs.

For those undergraduate students (full-time, in-state, degree-seeking) who entered UC prior to Fall 2019, a vote today by the Board of Trustees holds their tuition frozen at the Fall 2015 rate. Today’s vote promises to provide continued stability and predictability to UC students and their families, with a focus on affordability.

Factors helping UC hold down costs for continuing students would include eight years of steadily rising, record enrollment, efficiencies such as a comprehensive campaign to reduce costs for books, financial aid and the university’s No. 5 nationally top-ranked co-op program.

• Seniors and co-op juniors: More than 11,000 full-time seniors and co-op juniors (those juniors pursuing 5-year degree programs due to cooperative education opportunities) will see their 2021-22 tuition held flat at the Fall 2015 rate of $11,000 annual, in-state tuition. This is the seventh year in a row the Board has frozen undergraduate tuition for in-state, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate not already covered by a formal Tuition Guarantee Program.

• For the incoming undergraduate class of Fall 2021, the Tuition Guarantee continues. At the June 22 Board of Trustees meeting, the class’ tuition was locked in for their four- or five-year degree programs at $12,598 annually. That’s a $460 annual increase (3.8%) over the prior year’s Tuition Guarantee for the Fall 2020 class. Just like last year, the new Fall 2021 guarantee applies to first-year, full-time, degree-seeking students. This this is the third entering class UC has welcomed under the Tuition Guarantee structure.

At UC’s regional campuses, Blue Ash and Clermont, for the incoming class of approximately 2,000 who will pursue associate degrees, the full-time, in-state rate will be set and guaranteed at $6,086 (Clermont) and $6,492 (Blue Ash). That’s a $222 annual increase (3.8%) over the guaranteed rate provided to last year’s incoming students at Clermont and a $236 annual increase over the guaranteed rate provided to last year’s incoming students at Blue Ash.

Returning sophomores who entered in Fall 2020 already have a Tuition Guarantee that their tuition will remain locked in at their entry year rate. So, sophomores on the Uptown Campus who entered as first-year, degree-seeking students in Fall 2020 will continue with the same annual in-state tuition of $12,138, frozen at that rate throughout their four- or five-year degree programs.

Students who entered in Fall 2019 and are now returning (non-co-op) juniors already have a Tuition Guarantee that their tuition will remain locked in at their Fall 2019 entry year rate. So, in-state juniors on the Uptown Campus (who entered as first-year, degree-seeking students in Fall 2020) will continue with the same annual tuition of $11, 660, frozen at that rate throughout their four- or five-year degree programs.

To help cover educational costs, students and their families can apply scholarships, grants, work-study and other forms of financial aid along with any loans or earnings. The university provides $90 million annually to undergraduates in the form of institutional merit-, talent- and need-based aid and scholarships. When this institutional aid (provided directly from the university) is combined with federal, state and private support, UC administers about $500 million in aid to its more than 47,000 students.

At UC, opportunities for students to earn while they learn — ‘hire learning’ as it’s sometimes called — are also integrated into their academic coursework thanks to the university’s nationally Top 5 ranked cooperative education program (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report). As the global founder of cooperative education, UC students earn a collective $58 million annually thanks to alternating academic semesters with professionally paid work semesters tied to their majors. Via co-op, UC students work for more than 1,600 international employers, and the average earnings in the university's mandatory, full-time co-op programs comes to $10,500 per student each semester.   

According to a recent Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) study on college affordability, the average student loan indebtedness is 12.2% lower for UC students than at peer institutions due to the universities top-ranked co-op program. The co-ops are also viewed positively by students — 93% of co-op participants report that their experience was good or excellent. These positive ratings are reflected in alumni surveys as well. Employers value the program, as it provides them with opportunities to test out students as employees. Building these relationships early on helps students navigate into full-time jobs upon graduation and strengthens retention and graduation outcomes.