Indiana University 2012- Indiana University might discount summer tuition

Author - Jenna Johnson

Amid the gloomy news of the ever-climbing cost of college (more than 100 schools now charge more than $50,000 per year) and ever-growing student loan debt (the national total is about to hit $1 trillion), a handful of colleges are trying something different: lowering tuition rates.

Indiana University leaders want to cut the price of summer courses on all seven campuses starting next year. In-state undergraduates would receive a 25 percent discount, and out-of-state students would have the equivalent dollar figure deducted from their bill. The plan, which was announced at a news conference Monday, still needs approval by the board of trustees later this week.

At IU’s regional campuses, students taking a full load of summer classes could save more than $700 a year. Students in Bloomington and Indianapolis could save more than $1,000. IU President Michael A. McRobbie said in a statement that the discount will help students stay on track for graduation or earn their degree in less than four years.

“I am confident this will help us graduate more students in less time and allow our graduates to leave IU with less debt as they start their careers,”he said.

Other schools are also experimenting with cutting costs in creative ways: This fall the University of the South , better known as Sewanee, lowered its total price by 10 percent and changed its financial aid structure to better target students in need. Seton Hall University will soon reduce its tuition rate of more than $30,000 by two-thirds for students with strong academic credentials who apply early.

Often, “tuition cutting” at private schools doesn’t result in much savings for the average student, who already pays much less than the advertised rate. Last year, the average private school student paid less than 60 percent of what his or her college publicly charged. At public institutions, the advertised tuition rates are usually much closer to the price most students pay.

In the last few years at IU, less than 40 percent of the student population took at least one summer class — meaning that university facilities are not being efficiently used year-round.

“For public universities to thrive and grow in these challenging times, we have to be willing to re-examine everything we do with an eye toward finding efficiencies and adapting to the needs of our students,” McRobbie said in a statement.

The Indianapolis Star reports that the “rising cost of college has been a hot topic in Indiana as more and more students graduate with sky-high debt but no jobs.” At the state’s public colleges and universities, tuition has jumped more than 300 percent in 20 years, according to the newspaper, and state lawmakers have been pushing for financial relief for students.