MACOMB, Ill. — Students at Western Illinois University got an early gift this holiday season, learning that the school will not increase tuition rates for the 2017-18 school year.
The university’s Board of Trustees voted to keep the annual rate for incoming undergraduate students at $8,541 per year, based on 30 credit hours. The 2017-18 tuition rate for graduate students will also remain unchanged.
“We will not allow reduced state funding to become a tuition burden on our students. We are dedicated to providing educational opportunities for all citizens, and we will remain an affordable public higher education institution,” said WIU President Jack Thomas. “We continue to be the only university in the state that provides the guaranteed cost structure for all student expenses, including room, meal plan, tuition and fees. This allows students and their families to have a more stable financial plan for a college education. Students deserve access to the quality education Western Illinois University provides.”
The WIU Cost Guarantee program ensures that students will pay the same rate for tuition, fees, room and meal plan for their four years of continuous enrollment, according to school officials. Western’s Cost Guarantee is the only public university program in Illinois that provides no increases in room and meal plan, in addition to the Illinois statutory requirement of guaranteed four-year tuition rates. Western Illinois also offers the Cost Guarantee to graduate students enrolled in a degree program, as well as to transfer students earning an associate’s degree.
Earlier this year, the Iowa Board of Regents approved a two percent tuition increase at its three state schools: The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and The University of Northern Iowa. A recent WQAD Hard Work and Determination story breaks down average tuition costs at several area colleges and universities.