NIU Board of Trustees vote to hold the line on tuition for 2019-20

Posted 12/7/18

The Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees voted Thursday to lower fees and hold the line on tuition for the 2019-20 academic year.

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NIU Board of Trustees vote to hold the line on tuition for 2019-20

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DEKALB — The Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees voted Thursday to lower fees and hold the line on tuition for the 2019-20 academic year.
“We realize that earning a degree from an institution like NIU can be life-changing for a student, and we are committed to keeping NIU affordable,” Board Chair Wheeler Coleman said.
The board has now kept base undergraduate tuition rates at the same level for five consecutive years.
Tuition cap
Students will pay $348.84 per credit hour for the first 11 hours of courses. Those who take 12 or more hours will have their tuition capped at $4,732.80 per semester, creating an incentive to take heavier course loads and graduate on an accelerated timeline. The rate will apply to students, in-state or out-of-state, who enroll in the 2019-20 academic year, and will remain constant for nine consecutive semesters, per state and university policy.
Students majoring in two high-demand undergraduate areas will continue to pay the same additional per-hour differential rate to offset the costs of ensuring that labs and other resources are up to current industry standards. Those higher rates are applied to students enrolled in engineering ($50) and computer science ($40). A new $15 differential will be added to pre-licensure nursing, which remains one of the most affordable pre-licensure programs in the region.

The board also approved a slight decrease in student fees (excluding health insurance costs, which students can waive with proof of their own insurance). The fee reduction was made possible through anticipated savings to be realized through the university’s new partnership with Northwestern Medicine, which will manage the campus Health Services clinic.
Room and board rates for double occupancy rooms will also remain unchanged. Housing rates approved Thursday do not pertain to the New Hall and Northern View Apartment complexes on campus. Those facilities are operated as a public-private partnership, and rates are set by an outside agency.
The net outcome of the 2019-2020 rates is that the cost of attending and living at NIU will remain unchanged for a new student living on-campus in a double-occupancy room and taking 12 or more hours of classes.
The Board of Trustees also held the line on base tuition costs (excluding differentials) for the Graduate School and College of Law.
Graduate students will pay $495.62 per credit hour for the first 11 hours of courses. Those who take 12 or more hours will have their tuition capped at $5,947.44 per semester. College of Law students will pay $915.32 per credit hour for the first 11 hours of courses. Those who take 12 or more hours will have their tuition capped at $10,983.84 per semester.
“These actions dramatically demonstrate NIU’s commitment to keeping higher education accessible and affordable,” said Sol Jensen, vice president for the Division of Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communication. “That affordability, combined with our excellent programs, should make NIU an even more attractive choice for students looking for a degree that will help them succeed in life.”
Jensen pointed out that new scholarship programs recently announced by the university could significantly lower the cost of attendance for many incoming students.
For qualifying students, NIU’s AIM HIGH scholarship program provides an additional $1,000 to nearly $2,500 annually. To be eligible, students must qualify academically for one of NIU’s Merit Scholarships, be a senior currently attending an Illinois high school or transfer student who attended an Illinois high school applying to NIU for the fall of 2019.
Many students who meet the AIM HIGH criteria could be eligible for enough aid to cover full tuition and fees. Some students who receive Illinois MAP Grants, Pell grants and other forms of aid also will have grant and scholarship funds that can be applied to NIU housing, books and other educational expenses.
“Money should not be a barrier that prevents talented students from pursuing their dream of a college education that will better their lives, and those of their families, for decades going forward,” Jensen said. “NIU is committed to creating opportunities for students to make that dream a reality.”