USC freezes tuition while projecting $127 million loss from coronavirus
The University of South Carolina will freeze tuition for all students next year in an effort to minimize coronavirus-related enrollment declines.
On Friday, the board of trustees unanimously approved the tuition freeze — the first time since 1998 — as a part of its system-wide budget of $1.64 billion, which is a decrease from last year’s budget of $1.71 billion, documents show.
“The budget outlook before us is more serious than any the university has faced since the Great Recession,” USC President Robert Caslen said in a press release. “The good news is we are prepared for the challenge, and through the hard work of our staff, we will successfully reopen campus in the fall without passing the cost on to students and families.”
USC is freezing tuition amid projections the system will lose a total of $126.8 million in fiscal year 2021, which starts July 1. Of those losses, $59.2 million is expected to be recurring funding, and the remaining $67.6 million is expected to be one-time losses, according to board documents.
Tuition costs will stay the same for the coming year at $12,688 for in-state students and $33,928 for out-of-state students.
Room and board costs at the Columbia and Upstate campuses will still increase, board documents show.
The primary loss in recurring revenue will be because of a smaller projected freshman class, which will mean less revenue for the next four years as that smaller cohort moves through the USC system, Caslen said at the baord meeting.
To make up for the one-time losses, USC will allocate $61.5 million from the school’s reserves, $10.7 million from CARES Act funding and $3.1 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, board documents show. When added up, those numbers equal $75.4 million, which is more than is needed to cover the projected one-time loss, documents show.
USC is doing this to be “conservative” in case the revenue projections are wrong and the school needs more one-time money, said Kelly Epting, the associate vice president for finance and budget.
Epting is hoping AccelerateSC, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s task force for reopening the state, will contribute money to defray costs, but is not relying on it for budgeting, she said.
USC is among other S.C. colleges and universities that have frozen tuition as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though, freezing tuition was one of Caslen’s early promises after becoming president, before the pandemic hit.
To save money, USC has delayed construction of the $240 million Campus Village dormitory complex, delayed $88 million in capital repairs, cut pay for top administrators and coaches, reduced the number of consultants the school hires, implemented hiring freezes and delayed many faculty raises.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 1:45 PM with the headline "USC freezes tuition while projecting $127 million loss from coronavirus."