By Leah Wilkinson and Layla Colakovic
Bellarmine announced plans for more affordable tuition for incoming students, which is slated to go into effect in the fall of 2021.
In a news release sent out Thursday, September 10, university officials described the new option as the following:
“The scholarship is like few others in the country,” the release said. “It allows students to receive Bellarmine’s distinctive private, liberal arts education within a small, close-knit community for the same price as a large state school.”
Dr. Mike Marshall, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communication, addressed the new option with Bellarmine faculty and staff in an email.
“This morning, we are launching our new Public Price Promise,” Marshall said. “This initiative allows Bellarmine to match the direct costs (i.e., tuition, comprehensive fees, room and board) of attending flagship public universities in each state for new qualifying first-year undergraduate students who will live on Bellarmine’s campus for four years beginning in [fall] 2021.”
In his email, Marshall acknowledged the importance of an affordable education.
“This gives us a powerful new tool to address affordability questions as we continue to expand our regional and national reach, as it is matched to the flagship university direct costs for each state,” he said.
A flagship university is a school identified as the most prominent in the state. For Kentucky, that is the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky’s average cost with tuition and fees for the 2020-2021 school year is $31,646. Bellarmine’s is $43,070.
Although the change in tuition would be significant, some students said they feel conflicted over the change.
“Affordability goes well beyond the range of comparative prices, as college tuition has become unaffordable for most Americans on a national level,” senior Mayara Sponholz said. “Which Bellarmine, no matter how great the effort, can’t make up for.”
This change will allow students to pay the same as students already living in the area.
If students are still worried about affordability, there are options that provide financial help.
“There are a few options,” said Denise Brown-Cornelius, assistant vice president of business affairs. “Currently our university has an emergency fund which could help them with other expenses other than tuition such as food, rent and bills.”
Students can click here to see if they qualify for the emergency fund.
Marshall said this new scholarship will not alter the number of scholarships Bellarmine already gives incoming freshmen.
“This will not affect the number of scholarships awarded to incoming first-year students,” Marshall said. “We remain committed to awarding 100% of admitted first-year students scholarships, which is a Bellarmine guarantee.”
Dean of Admissions Tim Sturgeon said the decision was made because of the university’s strategic plan.
“Bellarmine’s new strategic plan Priority No. 3 calls for us to expand and diversify our enrollment,” he said. “Strategic Priority No. 6 seeks to expand our commitment to access and affordability.
Marshall said the program will help the university meet this priority.
“One innovative way to achieve this strategic objective is by implementing the Public Price Promise program,” he said. “Understanding our strategic priorities, the higher education landscape and where non-Bellarmine first-year matriculants have attended, we believe the time was [and is right] for us to launch such a bold initiative.”
Sturgeon said the focus is bringing students from a variety of backgrounds to campus.
“We hope this new scholarship and price match encourages more local, in-state, and out-of-state students to consider Bellarmine and to live on campus,” he said.
Sturgeon said many who apply to Bellarmine may believe the cost makes becoming a Bellarmine student less attainable, whereas this new scholarship aims to combat those concerns.
“You have to combine the desire to grow and be more accessible and affordable with what we know about the students who apply to Bellarmine,” Sturgeon said.
Those applying may also focus on initial tuition prices and not the amount after a scholarship is added.
“We also believe that many families look at sticker [prices] of the public universities and compare [them] to Bellarmine and think Bellarmine is out of reach,” he said.
The Public Price Promise will give prospective students and their families a clearer picture of what their costs will be.
“These students and families may not take the next step of researching Bellarmine to find out we award very [competitive] scholarships and need-based aid to lower the cost of attending,” Sturgeon said. “In most cases, this cost is lower than the public institution.”
The new option does have a catch: students must live on campus to receive it.
Sturgeon said there are a couple of reasons for this, including that it would be difficult to match tuition only.
“Many states have very low tuition costs,” he said. “But, when you combine their direct costs of tuition, comprehensive fee, room and board, we can match these costs.”
Sturgeon said he doesn’t believe this limitation will hinder students, as most freshmen typically live on campus anyway.
Although the University of Kentucky does have higher tuition than some other flagship schools such as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (with in-state tuition at $9,000). Brown-Cornelius said she is confident Bellarmine will still be able to provide the financial support students may need. She said every student’s situation is unique, and that the Office of Student Accounts can provide financial assistance in a variety of ways (scholarships, grants, etc.).
“Bellarmine has always been flexible to try to work with students,” she said. “Yes, there is an interest rate [for loans] as it is part of the system, but a student can reach out to the university through [the office of] student accounts.”
Brown-Cornelius said the ultimate goal is students’ success during their time at Bellarmine.