ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – The Winthrop University Board of Trustees voted unanimously on April 8 for no tuition increase for undergraduate students in the fall. It will mark the third year in a row that undergraduate tuition has been unchanged.
Tuition for undergraduate students will remain at the same rate for the 2022-23 academic year. In-state students will pay $7,653 a semester, while out-of-state students will be charged $14,818 a semester.
Trustees have said through the COVID-19 pandemic that they want to keep a college education affordable for students even as food, energy and other costs are rising. Relying on federal dollars through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund and from the South Carolina CARES Act have helped cover some of the university’s shortfall in dollars and allowed the university to balance its budget during the last couple of years.
“For the third year in a row, we are excited to announce we are keeping our undergraduate tuition flat,” said Justin Oates, vice president for finance and business affairs/CFO. “We feel this supports the goal of offering affordable tuition for our current and future students. The state’s increasing support has allowed us to continue this hold on tuition, assuming there are no changes to the state’s budget proposal.”
New fiscal year starts July 1
Campus-based Graduate School rates will increase 1 percent while online Graduate School rates will remain relatively flat. Rates can be viewed here.
Winthrop room fees, which vary according to the type of housing chosen, will increase 2.4 percent compared to last year. Meal plans also will go up 5.2 percent over last year’s rate. Winthrop has contractual obligations with its food service provider, Sodexo, to cover its cost of living increases.
The health and counseling fee will increase 4.8 percent while all other fees will remain flat. Both the food service and health fields are heavily impacted by the current higher than normal inflation rates.
New course fees also will be put in place to cover materials for some classes.
Summer on-campus discounts will remain in place, which amount to a 30 percent discount. Course discounts also were approved for various Richard W. Riley College of Education master’s degrees.
In other action, the board;
· Thanked faculty and staff members who worked on the recent SACSCOC reaccreditation visit in March. The university expects a reaccreditation decision in December.
· Expressed gratitude to the Close family and its related foundations for additional funds for the Close Scholars.
· Passed a resolution that praised the work of the Presidential Search Advisory Group which assisted in the selection of Edward Serna as Winthrop’s 12th president.
· Directed the president to proceed with an athletics study in support of maintaining the university’s Division I status.
· Agreed with a recommendation to hire consultants to analyze the university’s academic offerings in light of market analysis, student demand, and higher education trends.
· Approved two new graduate certificates -- creative writing and digital writing and rhetoric -- plus modifications to the undergraduate course sequencing in the B.S. programs in early childhood and elementary education.
· Accepted the recommendations of the committees on faculty tenure and promotion, various contracts and MOUs, and notable capital and facilities projects including Wi-Fi improvements, classroom AV refresh, demolition of Wofford and Richardson residence halls, Fountain project, DiGiorgio Campus Center plaza tile replacement, and Johnson fire alarm system replacement.
· Approved a salary offer to Beth Costner, who was announced as new College of Education dean at the conclusion of the meeting.
For more information contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at longshawj@winthrop.edu.
