As Mississippi's eight public universities plan to raise tuition by an average of four percent next fall, institutions are working to make sure that the cost of an education is affordable for most students. MPB's Jasmine Ellis has more.
Starting in the fall at Mississippi University for Women, full time tuition and fees for the fall and spring semester together will be $7,525. Nora Miller is president of Mississippi University for Women. She says to help make college more affordable, the institution now has a free tuition program for students in the National Guard, which also extends to full-time army members.
"There's some assistance that's provided from the federal government and from the state government for their tuition," said Miller. "And we will apply those first and apply any other aid. And then pick up whatever the difference is so that the guardsman can attend tuition free."
Warren Johnson is associate vice president and dean for enrollment management at Jackson State University. He says the cost of tuition will increase about five percent to $4,135 this fall, not including the mandatory fees or room and board. Johnson says to lure and retain more out of state students, the institution is reducing its out of state fee from about $11,000 to $1,000 for the academic year.
"We had to look at this too from are we pricing ourselves out of a market," said Johnson. "So while charging an out of state fee, are we creating an exorbitant burden for the students who come from out of state? But then they find it difficult to remain, if they choose here in the first place, because they can't afford it."
Johnson says Jackson State University has already admitted more than 3,000 out of state students for the fall.
