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BOT Votes to Keep Tuition, Fees, Room and Meal Plan Level

March 23, 2018

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MACOMB/MOLINE, IL -- The Western Illinois University Board of Trustees voted to keep the 2018-2019 all costs level (tuition, fees, room and meal plan) at its March 23 Board meeting on the Macomb campus.

The Board approved keeping undergraduate tuition level for the third consecutive year, graduate tuition level for the fourth consecutive year, and fees, room and meal plan rates level for the second consecutive year.

The 2018-2019 tuition rate for incoming domestic undergraduate students will remain at $8,541 annually ($284.70 per credit hour, based on 30 credit hours). The 2018-2019 tuition rate for new graduate students will remain unchanged at $323.64 per credit hour.

The 2018-2019 Cost Guarantee rates (Macomb campus) for fees, room and meal plan (based on 30 credit hours annually) also remain unchanged from Fall 2017: Undergraduate - Fees: $2,725.50; Room and Meal Plan: $9,630. Graduate - Fees: $2180.40; Room and Meal Plan - $9,630.

The 2018-2019 fee rates for Quad Cities students also remain level: $746.40 annually and $597.12 annually (undergraduate and graduate students, respectively).

"Western Illinois University's mission is to provide an affordable, world-class education to all citizens, and we will continue this mission. Students are the lifeblood of this University, and we will not make them carry the weight of reduced state funding," said WIU President Jack Thomas. "Among the 12 public universities in Illinois, Western has the most affordable tuition rate and is the only public university to maintain a four-year cost guarantee for both tuition and fees, and also for room and meal plan for undergraduate and graduate students. We provide considerable financial incentives for the best and brightest in our state to remain in Illinois. Western will continue to invest in our state's future by ensuring access to public higher education, which is a proven path to upward mobility and a prosperous state."

The WIU Cost Guarantee program ensures that students will pay the same rate for tuition, fees, room and meal plan for their four years of continuous enrollment. Western's Cost Guarantee is the only public university program in Illinois that provides no increases in room and meal plan, in addition to the Illinois statutory requirement of guaranteed four-year tuition rates. Western Illinois also offers the Cost Guarantee to graduate students enrolled in a degree program, as well as to transfer students earning an associate's degree.

In December 2015, WIU's Board of Trustees voted to reduce the 2016-2017 undergraduate tuition by three percent. The 2017-2018 tuition rate for incoming domestic undergraduate students remained at the 2016-2017 rate. Graduate tuition has remained unchanged since FY16.

In other business, the Board approved an annual rate of $1,684 for student health insurance; honorary doctorate awards to WIU Alumnus James Shipp and Quad Cities residents Robert and Blenda Ontiveros (see separate release); a utility easement for Ameren; a resolution for predictable funding; the 2018-2019 meeting schedule; and the IUOE-AFL-CIO Local Union 399 Landscape Maintenance contract.

The Board also heard reports on contributions, debt compliance, FY18 performance, financial aid, the President's Executive Institute and FY18 planning and results.

The next Board meeting will be held June 7-8 at the WIU-Quad Cities campus in Moline.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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