Written by: Lesieli Savelio
Southern Adventist University will increase tuition by 6.8% for the 2024-2025 school year, according to Ken Shaw, university president. In an email to the Accent, Shaw said that students will pay approximately $165 more per month in tuition compared to this school year.
According to Southern’s website, the total cost during the 2023-2024 school year for students living on campus is $34,050, and for community students it is $25,590. For the upcoming academic year, the total cost will be $36,200 for students living on campus and $27,300 for community students.
Shaw said one of the main reasons for the tuition increase is the 5% cost of living increase for Southern employees.
“This cost of living increase is a recommendation from the North American Division that we have followed for many years,” he wrote in the email.
Steven Miller, vice president for financial administration, shared with the Accent via email that keeping up with high inflation is another reason for the increase.
“High inflation rates have impacted everyone the past few years, as the U.S. annual inflation rates were 8.0% and 4.1% in 2022 and 2023, respectively,” Miller said. “This inflation directly impacts the school’s operating expenses through utility, supply, labor and other costs.”
Even with the increase in tuition costs, Shaw and Miller said that Southern is on the lower end of the tuition spectrum compared to other Adventist universities in the United States. Shaw also said that Southern’s cost is not high compared to institutions in the state of Tennessee.
“During our February Board of Trustees Meeting and at our recent Town Hall meeting, I shared a recent comparison showing our tuition and fees compared to the national and state averages,” Shaw said. “The average tuition and fees expense to attend private colleges and universities are $41,540. In Tennessee, that figure is $29,112. At Southern, our tuition and fees for this [past] year are $25,590.”
Miller said several steps are taken before making a decision like this. It goes through the financial committee and the Board of Trustees, and they use comparable information from the Adventist institutions in the discussion and decision-making process. Ultimately, the Board of Trustees is the last step, and any changes must be approved by them, according to Miller.
“There is a lot of research and planning that goes on before the recommendation is taken,” Miller said. “Multiple departments around campus work to forecast the university’s financial situation, enrollment and external factors, all of which could impact tuition.”
Though tuition is increasing, student wages will not go up next year. Shaw said that to raise student wages, the university would have to increase tuition costs even more.
