CONTRIBUTED BY
TROY UNIVERSITY
TROY — For four straight years, Troy University has kept prices level for students, reflecting the university’s commitment to providing an affordable, high-quality education.
TROY’s position of maintaining low prices bucks the industry trend of raising the price tag in response to inflation.
“At TROY, the most important thing we do is take care of students,” said Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., chancellor. “In a time of economic inflation, when the prices of so many consumer goods are rising, we feel it is our responsibility to keep our tuition as low as possible for our students.”
Troy University froze tuition rates in fall 2019 and fall 2020. In fall 2021, the university established a new pricing structure that created one tuition rate for all undergraduate students and eliminated a host of enrollment fees, meaning the total price of enrollment stayed the same for most students. For fall 2022, university leaders have once again frozen tuition rates and are retaining the pricing structure which has done away with all mandatory enrollment fees.
The updated pricing structure, called the Clear Cost Plan, reflects the university’s commitment not only to affordability but to disrupting the higher education pricing model. The pricing model within the Clear Cost Plan eliminates a host of fees, including all lab fees, course fees, registration fees, recreation fees and more. It also establishes single tuition rates for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral classes whether online or in-class.
This pricing model stands in contrast to the tuition and fee models in place at many institutions, in which numerous fees are tacked onto the tuition rate, said Dr. Jim Bookout, senior vice chancellor for Financial Affairs and TROY Online.
“We have eliminated all of our mandatory enrollment fees that most universities have long adopted as standard pricing strategies,” Bookout said. “The advantage to students and families is transparency in our pricing. Unlike some institutions, Troy University cannot freeze tuition rates while simultaneously increasing an array of enrollment fees.”
Troy University has been recognized as a national model for providing quality, affordable education in a new report from the Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust.
The case study, published in December 2021, is part of a project focusing on affordability strategies employed by the governing boards of five public universities. For TROY, the study examined the leadership of Hawkins. and the Board of Trustees and the decisions that have made Troy an adaptive and affordable institution focused on meeting the needs of students and the community.
“Ongoing efforts to ‘rightsize’ the university have resulted in significant cost savings, enabling university leadership to provide students with an affordable, flexible and quality education,” the report states.
