Wilberforce University Announces Tuition Reduction By 15%

The oldest private, historically Black college in America, Wilberforce University, announced it will reduce its tuition by 15 percent for incoming students who are residents of Ohio, as part of its “You Matter, We Care, You Belong at Wilberforce University!” campaign.

Students will have their tuition price reduced from $12,020 to $10,217 for the 2021/22 academic year, Erudera.com reports.

Furthermore, students who are starting their master’s studies and those entering CLIMB, the university’s accelerated adult degree programs, will also receive the same benefits.

“Wilberforce University wants to encourage new, undergraduate, CLIMB program students, and master’s degree candidates who are Ohio residents, to look in their own ‘backyards’ and see how this historic institution of higher learning is energetically beckoning them to the Wilberforce experience,” Wilberforce’s Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management, James Burrell, was quoted as saying by WDTN.

According to the university, by lowering the tuition, they are aiming to boost enrollments which have marked a decrease of about 12 percent between fall 2019 and 2020. Nevertheless, there will not be a discount for room and board and general fees as the latter will remain the same.

Wilberforce removed more than $375,000 in debt, including fines, fees, and tuition, which students or their parents owed to the institution, by using the funds provided by the United Negro College Fund, the Jack and Jill Foundation, and others.

“We wish to give you a fresh start. You don’t owe Wilberforce anything. Congratulations,” Wilberforce ‘s President Elfred Anthony Pinkard had told the students after the debt was removed.

In addition to Wilberforce, several other higher education institutions, including American University, Georgetown University, Princeton, Lafayette College, and others, have reduced their tuition for the spring semester this year.

Using the federal government’s Emergency Fund for Colleges dedicated to assisting students amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Dallas College has canceled student debts that were owed to the college, for a total of 14,000 students over the past year.

Established in 1856, Wilberforce University is the oldest private historically black university-owned and operated by African Americans. The university is a four-year accredited liberal arts institution that offers 25 academic majors in business, communications, computing, and engineering sciences, humanities, natural sciences, social sciences.