Xavier University Board of Trustees agrees to a 5.23% increase in undergraduate tuition

By Jackson Hare, Campus Editor

The Xavier University Board of Trustees has approved a 5.25% increase in undergraduate tuition for the 2024-25 academic year.

This increase particularly affects the cost of full-time student tuition for 12 through 18 credit hours, which will see a $1,257 increase in the next academic year. 

Meanwhile, the cost of housing and meal plans will remain the same.

“Everyone at Xavier understands and appreciates the tremendous investment students and families are making to receive a Xavier education, and I share that appreciation,” Provost and Chief Academic Officer Rachel Chrastil said, responding to the tuition increase.

“Xavier continues to offer a nationally-ranked education and personal support for each student. The value of a Xavier education will extend beyond these four years and well into the future. I know I speak for all of my colleagues when I say that we will continue to provide support for our students to have a high quality experience,” Chrastil added.

Tuition last saw an adjustment for the 2022-23 academic year with a 6.01% increase from the year prior. 

“We’ve seen the prices for education rise every year,” junior Philosophy, Politics and the Public (PPP) major Edward Morrison said. “I think it’s something that people are struggling with because now you see campus resources being cut back, but you’re raising the prices.”

Morrison specifically mentioned cleaning services and Spectrum TV services being cut back. Additionally, Morrison, who is also a resident assistant, expressed concern that his efforts to obtain a more affordable education are still thwarted by tuition increases.

“They’re not going to change the rate for housing and meal plans, which is nice, but for me, as an RA my housing and meal plan are paid for — on top of my merit scholarships — my cost goes up as well,” Morrison said.

Additionally, the cost for yearly parking passes for commuter students, resident students, Village Apartments or Commons Apartment lots have all increased by $25.

“I am glad I’m leaving when I am,” senior PPP major Lizzy Roeding said. “I feel like the  university is investing in programs that maybe the student body isn’t actually asking for. It may help them long term, but it’s not helping the students who are currently here or students who are wanting to come here within the next few years.”

In light of tuition increasing, Roeding also raised questions regarding why tuition was increased and where the money will be going.

“What are they going to do with that money? Where’s that tuition going? Are you adding parking? Are you still gonna make us move spots for every single basketball game? Are you going to pave H lot so cars aren’t getting ruined by the gravel that’s over there,” Roeding said.

Moreover, incoming students will now be charged a $125 fee per semester to opt into Xavier’s Day One textbook beginning next year with the class of 2029.

Through this program, students’ required textbook and materials costs are covered in their course fees, and the Day One Book Depot prepares each students’ required materials for them to pick up in one stop.

The program will continue to not have an additional fee for current students as they have been grandfathered into the program, but the incoming classes will have to either pay the fee to opt into the program or source books independently.

This decision comes, in part, due to the varying costs of course materials across majors and the concern that students who take courses or who have a major that has less costly course materials are paying the same amount as students who need expensive textbooks and materials.

“We are committed to offering a quality, Jesuit Catholic educational experience that delivers on our mission to prepare graduates for an increasingly diverse and complex world, while being mindful of costs for our students,” Chrastil said in an email announcing the tuition increase.

“I’m a legacy student. My dad went to school here, my aunt went to school here, my grandpa did too, so I was raised with this vision of what Xavier is and what it’s like to go to school here, and my dad speaks highly of the university. Everybody in my family that went here speaks highly of it. But, I think as my time here has gone on, I’ve kind of been let down by this image of what Xavier was,” Roeding said.

“So am I grateful to get a college education? Yes. Am I unhappy with the direction that the university is going? Yes,” Roeding said.