How The Cost To Attend TU Went Down Amid Global Pandemic

Press release from Towson University:

July 28, 2020

To help address student financial needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Towson University
has taken a number of steps — from providing access to emergency funding to freezing
tuition at the prior year’s rate.

Tuition & fees

Following an announcement in June by the University System of Maryland, tuition and fees were frozen for the 2020-2021 academic year, equating to $1,015
in savings on in-state undergraduate tuition and fees.

Graduate in-state tuition is being lowered to $21 per credit, with the average nine-credit
course tuition and fees reduced by $195.

CARES Act

Over 6,700 TU students have already received more than $7.6 million in grants from
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. An additional $1M
is set aside for students with needs in the current academic year.

Aid and grants

Federal, state and TU funded aid has increased by $16.9 million since 2015. The total
number of students receiving need-based grants in the last five years has increased
by 12%. The need-based grant dollars awarded to students in the same time frame has
increased by $16,952,551—a 37% increase.

Student emergency fund

TU Student Affairs has awarded nearly 1,000 emergency grants to TU students, totaling
more than $282,000 since April 1. Applications are still being accepted for grants
toward expenses like food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and
more. More than 1,500 donors contributed nearly $180,000 to the fund from July 2019
to June 2020 — most of them given between April and June of this year. Additionally,
the TU Foundation supported the fund with a reallocation of $100,000 for student emergencies.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland and Culture of Philanthropy.

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.