Tuition atSouthern University recently received an increase, but compared to otherHistorically Black Colleges and Universities Southern is still substantiallycheaper.
Earlierthis month, Southern University students were notified of a $52 tuitionincrease that will take place at the beginning of the fall 2005 semester. As the news circulated around campus,it did not sit too well with most of the student body.
‘Thetuition situation has been crazy ever since I got here,’ said Nathaniel Brown,a junior from Orlando. ‘Each yearI”ve been a student, I have had to pay more than the year before.’
Althoughthe tuition increase does mean more money, the cost to attend Southern ranks itas one of the most pocket-friendly HBCUs in the country. Considering how everyblack college and university”s tuition has increased over the recent years andhow the tuition prices all over the nation are subject to rise at any giventime SU still remains among the lowest.
‘I”m nottotally against it — we get what we pay for,’ said Dwayne Grant, a sophomorefrom St. James. ‘But Southernshould show students evidence of things they have done with tuition increasesfrom previous years before they ask for another one.’
Out of the top 15 HBCU”s in the UnitedStates, SU has the second-cheapest tuition price per semester based on in-statetuition at $1,744. Southern isonly behind North Carolina A&T University, which is $1,533. However, according to the treasurer atA&T, their tuition is also going to increase at the start of nextsemester.
TheHistorically Black Colleges and Universities with the most expensive tuitionsare all private, four-year institutions such as Morehouse ($14,318) and Spelman($12,700). Some schools, like Hampton ($9,965), are also independentinstitutions, meaning that they are funded from sources other than theirrespective state.
Many black schools have to raise tuitionwhen they are faced with issues concerning spending major money to fund thingslike student aid.
Someschools also have to worry about the cost of labor around the campus andothers, especially HBCU”s, must constantly face the possibility of decreasingstate support.
InSouthern”s case, the money collected from the extra tuition cost will aid inpaying for things like unfunded mandates and university group insurance, whichare necessities.
‘I surehope they keep the price constant for awhile,’ Brown said. ‘At least longer than a year.’
TOP 15 HBCUs TUITION (IN STATE)
1. Morehouse $14,318
2. Johnson C. Smith $13, 712
3. Clark Atlanta $13,486
4. Spelman $12,700
5. Hampton $9,965
6. Xavier $6,050
7. Fisk $5,885
8. Tuskegee $5,645
9. Howard $5,420
10. Bethune-Cookman $5,305
11. FAMU $3,581
12. Morgan State $2,859
13. Tenn. State $2,019
14. Southern University $1, 744
15. NC A&T $1,533
