Like many of you, Mansfield University is aware of a report published yesterday on the Yahoo Finance website titled “‘The Wild West’: These colleges are putting students into the most debt”. The article is based on reporting and rankings by LendEDU.com, a for-profit website. Yahoo Finance has since updated their article, removing graphics, university names and rankings due to several discrepancies in the LendEDU.com’s reporting and methodology.
Mansfield University is very much aware students at Mansfield and nationwide are incurring great financial debt for their college education. Because of this, the university has committed over the last year to make changes that relieve this financial burden and position Mansfield University as one of the more affordable choices in the state.
The university moved away from a per-credit tuition model to a flat-rate tuition model. The flat-rate allows students to take 12-18 credits, at a flat fee. Many of our alumni will be familiar with this model Pennsylvania residents taking 15 credits this semester will see savings over 18% from last year’s tuition. Out of state students also enjoy savings with tuition. Residents from New York and New Jersey, though still paying a higher rate than PA residents, also save significantly over last year’s rate, with a re-introduction of reduced tuition plan for our neighboring states.
In addition to tuition savings, the university has also reduced the cost of on-campus housing. For example, the cost for a standard 2-person suite with a private bathroom and micro-fridge has been reduced by over 20%. Fees have also been frozen at last year’s rates.
The university also received a $1million grant for merit scholarships as part of the 2019-2020 state budget. The scholarships, called “Pennsylvania Student Success Awards“ are provided to undergraduate Pennsylvania students of merit, enrolled at Mansfield University at least half-time, who have exhausted all other sources of financial aid left with significant outstanding balances.
Mansfield University will continue to grow as we position ourselves to serve the Commonwealth and region as one of the most affordable state universities.