Gasps from students filled the room when they heard the news. Tucker Stout was one of them.
“I was excited. My face lit up with joy when I heard the news so it was sweet.”
Stout’s excited because the cost of attending USF has been reset $10,000. This lowers the university’s annual tuition to just under $18,000. Dr. Brett Bradfield is president of USF. He says the move is in the best interest of students and their families.
“We’re very sensitive to the fact that many of our students and their families sacrifice to come to a University such as ours and so we want to do our part to also make that affordable and accessible.”
The tuition reset works by changing tuition rates, making adjustments to financial aid, and freezing room and board. There’s also a $300 annual university fee. Aimee Vander Feen is Vice President for Enrollment Management.
“When a student says ‘Oh, I think I’m going to save $10,000,’ that isn’t the case where they’ll see that truly on paper, because it’s an adjustment with their financial aid and their scholarship amounts for the upcoming year.”
The tuition reset comes without USF cutting any costs. Bradfield says the university doesn’t expect lost revenue. He says he hopes the move will increase enrollment and retention but that was never the goal.
“At it’s core, this was about not only serving prospective students in the future but also our current students who have sacrificed to be here.”
Bradfield’s been researching the tuition reset for the past two years. He say’s this year there are around 10 other universities in the U-S implementing something similar. For South Dakota Public Broadcasting, I’m Andrew Bork in Sioux Falls.
For more information: https://lp.usiouxfalls.edu/tuition-reset
