Small Ohio college cuts tuition rate by 35%
Fall is when colleges gear up to show their campuses to prospective students, and at some of those schools, including one in neighboring Ohio, it’s an opportunity to talk up something else: A price cut.
Hiram College is among the latest to take the leap. The small private campus in northeast Ohio, about 90 miles from Pittsburgh, plans to reduce what it charges by 35 %, effective in fall 2020.
The rural college with about 1,200 students says its “sticker price” of $37,710 for tuition and mandatory fees will drop to $24,500.
It’s also adding a couple of twists: First, students can take up to two free summer courses a year, an option allowing them to either reduce their time to get a degree, or otherwise pace their studies.
“Some students may opt to take up to 36 credit hours during the fall and spring semesters and 8 credit hours during each summer to complete a degree in 3 years,” the school says on its website. “Others may use the summer to catch up on courses they either dropped or postponed taking during the regular year for no extra charge.”
In addition, Hiram is boosting paid internships.
“Starting in summer 2020, Hiram will add dozens of new internships to the existing array of experiential activities available on campus, at the James H. Barrow Biological Field Station and at approved off-campus sites around the country,” the school says.
The move is intended both to increase avenues for students to gain practical experience and help them earn cash that they can use year round, college officials said.
Hiram isn’t the only school announcing a price makeover of late.
In Lynchburg, Va., Randolph College is cutting its price, too — and it’s not shy about telling visitors to its website.
Click on the site and the words, “When we say affordable, we mean it” appear atop a breakdown of what it calls its price reset — from $54,101 to $36,000 for tuition, room and board, effective 2020-21.
The price cuts are a manifestation of enrollment pressures that have grown on colleges both private and public for reasons ranging from population loss in parts of the nation to growing skepticism of price and student debt.
Small private colleges in Pennsylvania and other states face particularly acute challenges. In many cases, they are rethinking some programs and making other moves to drive home their value to students. Over the years some schools including Thiel College and Muskingum University have tried price resets.
Each year, a handful of colleges announce and promote these sharp cuts, according to the Washington D.C.-based National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
Some schools point to price reductions as an act of transparency. After all, many private colleges already deeply discount their sticker price.
“If done well, the college ends up not spending any more money, net, but has got a much more simple and direct way of explaining its financial aid,” said Richard Ekman, president of The Council of Independent Colleges.