At its meeting on March 17, 2022, Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Council of Trustees approved reductions in two fees, standardized the installment payment plan fee, and reviewed a recommendation to keep tuition flat for out-of-state and international students.
The changes are a 33.3 percent reduction in the late payment fee and a 25.5 percent average reduction in the student installment payment plan fee.
Under one resolution approved today by trustees, the monthly late payment fee will be reduced to $20 per month from $30 per month, with the maximum late payment fee reduced to $100 from $120 per semester. This change will take effect for fall 2022.
In a separate resolution, trustees approved setting the installment payment plan fee at $35 for all plans. The fee currently ranges from $40 to $55; the average fee paid by students during fiscal 2020–21 was $47. This change will take effect May 31.
Trustees also reviewed information about out-of-state and international student tuition, which will remain at a per-credit tuition rate for fall 2022. The Tuition Model and Pricing Workgroup will be reviewing and analyzing the tuition rates for these two residency groups for further consideration. The rate for out-of-state and international students is developed by the president of the university in consultation with the Council of Trustees.
“These initiatives are part of the university’s continued commitment to affordability for our students and families,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said. “We appreciate the leadership and support of our Council of Trustees in approving these proposals and the thoughtful work the trustees have done to move the Tuition Affordability Plan forward.
“The Tuition Affordability Plan was the first step in our efforts to make an IUP education even more affordable, reflecting our focus on becoming a more student-centered university, and this work is ongoing,” he said. “We are turning our attention next to our fee structure and to the costs for out-of-state and international students.”
IUP’s Tuition Affordability Plan, approved by the Pennsylvania State System Board of Governors on March 2, results in a reduction in the annual tuition cost for in-state undergraduate students taking 12 to 18 credits by approximately 20 percent, from $9,570 to $7,716. Under this plan, the tuition cost is $322 per credit for all undergraduate students who live in Pennsylvania who are taking 12 to 18 credits per semester. This plan goes into effect for fall 2022 and applies to both new and continuing undergraduate students who live in Pennsylvania.
Out-of-state and international students pay a percentage of the university’s tuition rate for in-state residents. Currently, out-of-state students pay 145 percent of IUP’s in-state undergraduate tuition rate; the plan for fall 2022 will be reducing the percentage to 143.7 percent of the in-state undergraduate tuition rate. This will keep the per-credit rate for out-of-state students at $463 per credit, for an annual tuition cost of $13,890 based on a student taking 30 credits annually, for fall 2022.
International students pay tuition at a 250 percent rate of in-state tuition, or $798 per credit ($23,940 for students taking 30 credits per year). IUP’s plan reduces the percentage rate charged to international students to 247.8 percent of the in-state undergraduate tuition rate, to allow the per-credit rate to remain at $798 per credit for fall 2022.
“This decision allows students and families to make their financial plans while the Tuition Model Pricing Workgroup continues its review of the tuition structure and develops recommendations,” Driscoll said.
The proposals reviewed by the Council of Trustees related to late payment fees and the installment plan fee are a result of the ongoing work of the Tuition Model and Pricing Workgroup to address affordability and the IUP Office of Student Billing, which is reviewing and evaluating current processes and procedures, with a focus on providing improved services to students and simplifying billing. It also follows an enhancement of IUP’s installment payment billing module software in the Office of Student Billing.
IUP will continue to offer payment plan options ranging from one to five months for students to pay their bills each semester. Over the course of the academic year, the most liberal payment plan would allow 10 payments, providing families with more flexibility in meeting university expenses. The change approved today by the Council of Trustees, in addition to providing a savings to students and families, simplifies the plan and creates more efficiencies for members of the Student Billing Office.
The late fee is designed to incentivize timely payment of bills by students. With the approval of this new fee, IUP’s late fee is consistent with the fees charged by other universities in the Pennsylvania State System.