Clemson trustees OK tuition freeze By Journal Staff 7 hrs ago CLEMSON — The Clemson University Board of Trustees took care of some financial business in a special meeting Thursday — freezing tuition for in-state students and learning the university has secured the total funding needed for its new veterinary school.
Thursday’s vote for a freeze is the fifth year in a row for in-state students. Trustees abided by Gov. Henry McMaster’s previous directive for the General Assembly to not hike rates for in-state students for the 2024-25 academic year, with an appropriation to the state’s institutions of higher education of $49.8 million. Clemson trustee and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was the sole vote of dissent.
The board also approved housing and dining rates posted in January. These fees are adjusted annually to cover costs associated with inflation, to increase services and to fund planned repairs and renovations.
The current in-state undergraduate tuition and fees rate for one academic year is $15,554 and room and board is approximately $12,872, according to the university’s admissions office. Tuition and fees jump to $39,498 for out-of-staters, but room and board fees hold still. When factoring in an approximate $1,436 for books, course materials and supplies, the total funding per year tallies to $29,862 for in-state students and $53,806 for out-of-state students.
'Tremendous opportunity’
Clemson executive vice president of finance and operations and chief operating officer Tony Wagner reflected on the “strong partnership” between the university and the state and increased tuition mitigation funding, which has allowed Clemson to continue a freeze.
“(It) has been a tremendous opportunity for us. I also want you to know that in this budget, we’ve done a number of reallocations,” he told the trustees. “We have certain inflationary and mandatory costs. … Our FY24 performance is on track. You know, we monitor our actual expenditures very carefully and we are on track with budget, so no issues there. Our single biggest source of funding is tuition in our $1.7 billion-dollar budget. About one-third or almost $600 million comes from tuition.
“FY25 will build upon the great performance that we’ve had in the past years,” Wagner continued. “Our great partnership with the state, it’s going to be a strong year from a recurring funding perspective now that the state is very close to finishing their budget, (a) $24.3 million increase — $12.7 million of that will be in our (education and general) budget, the core budget where tuition and state appropriations is. That is for tuition mitigation.”
Other recurring funding includes $8 million for Clemson’s new College of Veterinary Medicine for debt service and $3.6 million for Public Service and Agriculture, which covers a variety of initiatives between Clemson and the state such as research.
University president Jim Clements and board chairwoman Kim Wilkerson each thanked McMaster and state lawmakers.
“On behalf of the entire Board, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to Gov. Henry McMaster and the entire South Carolina General Assembly for their incredible commitment to Clemson University,” Wilkerson said. “Their continued commitment allows us to help meet the needs of our students, continue meeting the vision of our founder, Thomas Green Clemson, and look toward the future as we elevate Clemson University to new heights.”
“Through approving tuition rates for the next academic year, our Board continues to demonstrate their dedication to keeping a Clemson education affordable for our students,” Clements said. “We are also incredibly thankful for the continued support of Gov. McMaster and the General Assembly, as their investment into our University allows us to continue fulfilling our land-grant mission and to make a significant difference across the state of South Carolina and beyond.”
As for out-of-state-tuition, the trustees approved a 3.5 percent increase, the second increase for non-resident students in the past five years. Over the same period, the consumer price index (CPI) has increased 23 percent and the higher education price index has risen by 16 percent, according to Clemson officials.
“As you know, we did not increase out-of-state tuition last year, and since 2020 out-of-state tuition has only increased 2.5 percent prior to this year while the CPI has increased over 20 percent,” Wagner said. “We’ve really kept out-of-state tuition increases as low as we possibly could.” Data from Clemson
Data released by university officials shows Clemson’s commitment to affordability and a return on investment to its students:
• 99 percent of first-time in-state students receive state scholarships.
• 76 percent of undergraduate students receive some type of financial assistance, including state, federal and university awards.
• 82 percent of entering first-year students received some type of financial aid in 2022-23.
• A majority of Clemson’s graduates (54 percent) have no debt compared to the state (40 percent) and national (48 percent) averages.
Vet school funding
Wagner told the trustees the General Assembly has given a one-time funding of $125 million this year for the establishment of the state’s first vet school, the College of Veterinary Medicine. The total ask from the university was $12.5 million in recurring funding and $285 million in capital funding.
“I’m happy to report to you that that is what we have received, so the vet school is fully funded,” Wagner said. “From a recurring perspective, we did receive $12 million last year. Of course, we haven’t ramped up all of the recurring expenses so the extra dollars there have been used on the capital side. From a one-time funding perspective, the $285 (million) is made up from $10 million of (education and general) funding that was received in FY23, $75 million in (education and general) that was received in FY24, $15.5 million for the (Public Service and Agriculture) animal farms. There’s two facilities, one at the equine farm right across from the site of the vet school, and also one at the food animal facility at the LeMaster Dairy (Center). $125 million in (education and general) for FY25, and then $50 million in (education and general) that will be covered by an $8 million recurring debt service appropriation.”
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