Clemson freezes undergrad in-state tuition for 5th straight year By Caitlin Herrington 20 hrs ago CLEMSON — Despite multiple major construction projects underway on campus and adding staff to new colleges, the Clemson University Board of Trustees has frozen in-state undergraduate tuition rates for a fifth consecutive year.
This year, though, brings an across-the-board 3.5-percent increase for all out-of-state students.
Tuition serves as Clemson University’s largest single source of income, according to Chief Operations Officer Tony Wagner, providing about one-third of the budget.
A trend that began in 2020 has continued to keep rates predictable, especially for South Carolinian students.
Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, who joined the board in October 2021, was the sole vote against the increase.
Other programs fees — housing and meal plans, for instance — have increased across the board, and graduate tuition has seen a few hikes since the initial COVID freeze.
Undergraduate rates will once again be $7,019 a semester for residents.
With the 3.5-percent increase for non-residents, the new rate for undergrads who don’t qualify for the in-state rate, the cost will be roughly $19,656 semester.
For Tier 3 graduate students, in-state tuition for a full-time schedule will once again be $6,611; non-residents will pay $14,780 for the same education. Lower tiers have incremental drops in cost, with in-state Tier 1 students paying $4,853 for a full-time course load.
Clemson University is set to receive $12.7 million from the state’s budget for the sole purpose of tuition mitigation, Wagner said.
Since 2020, out-of-state students have seen a 2.5-percent increase in tuition, he told the board. Housing fees increased by 3.6 percent last year and dining fees rose 4 percent.
In the 2021-22 year, all graduate student tuition rose 3 percent.
The last tuition increase for in-state students came in the 2019-20 school year just before the pandemic hit, which had a 1 percent increase for resident undergraduate students and a 3.8 percent tuition hike for non-residents.
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