USC freezes tuition for 2021-2022 school year, President Caslen announces

The University of South Carolina will freeze for the second year in a row, President Robert Caslen said during a Wednesday speech.

Caslen made the statement during the annual State of the University speech, which is Caslen’s first since becoming USC’s president in July 2019.

“We must make higher education affordable and accessible or our current students won’t stay and prospective students will not give us a chance,” Caslen said.

Currently, the in-state tuition at USC is $12,688 and out-of-state tuition is $33,928, according to USC’s financial aid website. When USC froze tuition for the 2020-2021 school year, it was the first time USC had frozen tuition since 1998.

Next school year, 2021-2022, will be the third year in a row tuition costs have stayed the same. USC hasn’t had three consecutive years where in-state tuition remained the same since 1984-1986, according to S.C. Commission on Higher Education data.

USC’s student leadership praised the decision to freeze tuition.

“I am immensely proud of our university and our administration for enacting the tuition freeze,” USC Student body President Issy Rushton told The State. “This is such a step in ensuring our students and faculty are put first and have access to higher education.”

USC Student Body Vice President Hannah White agreed.

“Tuition is a burden for a lot of college students, so especially during this time of COVID-19, many students I’ve talked to are struggling financially,” said White, who has had to take out some loans to pay for college. “This is 100% a step in the right direction.”

A tuition freeze does not mean the full cost of attending college will remain the same. Caslen did not promise to freeze room and board costs.

Under Caslen, USC has signaled a willingness to avoid tuition increases, even when the university is struggling financially. When the board of trustees approved this year’s tuition freeze in June, the school was projected to lose $127 million and 10% of its enrollment because of coronavirus.

“There was a point when it looked like the pandemic would diminish our freshman class by as many as 3,500 students,” Caslen said.

During his speech, Caslen said he had been considering a tuition freeze before the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve been talking about this value proposition since I arrived in South Carolina,” Caslen said during the speech. “It did not take COVID-19 to start the conversation, but the pandemic certainly has made it more urgent than ever.”

Since taking office, Caslen has been vocal about his desire to freeze tuition. His plan to freeze tuition includes “growing the pie” of potential college students by recruiting in-state students who otherwise would not have attended college.

This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 10:17 AM.