Exactly a month after Baylor announced a 6.5% tuition increase and a $35 million budget decrease, the administration defended its decision, explaining that it was part of a larger plan to save students money in the future.
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Baylor students are sandwiched between two factors that compress the value of their education. On one side, a tightening job market is bringing prospects for young graduates back down to COVID-19 lows. On the other side, disproportionate price increases in the already fast-growing industry of higher education continue to push the cost of a degree toward hard-to-believe figures.
With all 1,700 spots filled, Student Foundation achieved a record-breaking number of sign-ups for the Bearathon, selling out of tickets more than a month before the race.
Baylor’s tuition has risen nearly 44.53% over the past decade, and the university’s most recent increase has drawn reactions from students and families about affordability and transparency.
President Linda Livingstone addressed faculty and staff in a campus-wide message detailing the financial review and the adjustments that were made. According to Livingstone, colleges all over the country are having a hard time right now because fewer students are enrolling, prices are going up and new rules are being made.
“We talk about our mission in every meeting that we have,” Board of Regents Chair William “Bill” Mearse said. “Our students are always our top priority.”
Instead of a big city high-rise, Morehead’s team works in a small red brick building in downtown Waco. Suits and ties are replaced with casual (mostly green and gold) clothes. And in an industry that’s mostly men, four out of the office’s five investment professionals are women. It all helps to put the attention on what really matters: making money for Baylor without touching students’ wallets.
Baylor has unveiled the Extend the Line scholarship initiative, a campaign aiming to raise $250 million by 2030 to enhance student scholarships and ensure that a Baylor education remains accessible and affordable.
At their regular February meeting, the Baylor Board of Regents took major steps towards it’s five-year strategic plan, including approving a tuition increase for the 2025-26 school year, a new scholarship initiative and the addition of two new academic degrees.
In August 2023, the Biden administration proposed the SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan as a new effort to relieve many college students and graduates from the burden of expensive education costs.
The Board of Regents, in the face of post-pandemic inflationary pressures and rising costs, approved a 6% increase in its tuition “sticker price” — $54,844 — for the 2023-2024 school year. However, the board also approved a new program titled “Baylor Benefit,” a financial aid initiative meant to help students whose family income is less than $50,000 per year.
