Belmont Abbey College announced on Nov. 28 that it is reducing its annual tuition cost to $18,500 beginning in Fall 2013. This represents an almost $10,000 per year reduction in the College’s published tuition price for incoming freshmen and transfer students.

“Over the past 25 years, average college tuition and fees in the United States has increased more than 440 percent,” said President William Thierfelder. “At more than four times the rate of inflation, that’s not sustainable for the average American family, so it’s time to reverse the trend.”

Similar-sized colleges have announced tuition resets over the past two years, largely due to declining enrollment numbers. However, Belmont Abbey’s reduction in tuition “sticker price” comes at a time of growth for the school, which had its highest traditional undergraduate enrollment ever in 2012. This fall also saw considerable capital improvements such as a new dining hall, fitness facility and renovated student center. Two new residence halls will open in Fall 2013 to accommodate the increasing number of resident students.

A 2012 College Board Student Poll of college-bound seniors found more than half had ruled out colleges on sticker price alone without considering potential financial aid awards.

“While we may not be the first private institution to scale back tuition to close the gap between published tuition price and actual cost, our goal is increasing accessibility, not boosting enrollment,” said Dr. Thierfelder. “Belmont Abbey College’s tuition reset is a strategic move toward providing an outstanding private college education at an affordable price.”

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