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USC budget holds in-state tuition increase to 0.6%

Staff Report //June 21, 2019//

USC budget holds in-state tuition increase to 0.6%

Staff Report //June 21, 2019//

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Tuition for in-state students at the University of South Carolina will increase by a historically low 0.6% in a budget approved by USC’s board of trustees on Friday.

Last year, in-state tuition rose by 2.9.%, which was the lowest increase in two decades at the time, according to a news release from the university.

Undergraduate tuition for students this fall at state flagship university’s Columbia campus will be $6,344 for in-state residents and $16,964 for out-of-state students, the school said. Tuition at USC Upstate, along with campuses in Aiken, Beaufort, Lancaster, Sumter, Salkehatchie and Union will not increase. Costs of online courses through Palmetto College will also not change.

University leaders said state support helped hold down the tuition increase. S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s 2019 budget included an additional $18.7 million for university operations as well as $36.8 million in one-time funding for system-wide capital needs, according to the release.

“We worked closely with lawmakers this year to ensure investment in higher education was a priority, and the additional support we received had a direct impact on our ability to keep our tuition increase as low as possible,” USC president Harris Pastides said.

Tuition at the university’s schools of medicine in Columbia and Greenville will increase by 1.9% for S.C. residents, while in-state tuition at USC’s School of Law will be reduced by $5,000 for the fall and spring semesters combined, the university said.

The budget, which takes effect July 1, also included an across-the-board reduction in administrative costs at the Columbia campus totaling $10 million to boost reinvestment in academics and research.

“This is a fiscally responsible budget that protects students and families as well as the taxpayers that support our institution,” board chairman John C. von Lehe said. “Importantly, it allows us to continue the tremendous progress we’ve made in providing more students the opportunity to earn a degree, building our research capacity and growing the economic fortunes of the state.”

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