Mary Baldwin University to hold tuition rates steady for second year in a row

The Mary Baldwin University Board of Trustees has voted once again to freeze tuition for undergraduate students in 2019–20, bucking a nationwide trend of rising college costs for both public and private institutions.

This is the second year that MBU has placed a cap on tuition for both residential and online undergraduate students.

“We put our students first,” said MBU President Pamela R. Fox, “We recognize that increased tuition costs can create a hardship for our students and their families, and we want to do what we can to alleviate that burden. I am proud that our Trustees have taken the lead and recognized the need for support for the second year in a row.”

According to the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia, tuition rates this year rose at an average of 5.9 percent at Virginia’s four-year colleges and universities.

MBU provides financial aid to nearly every one of its students. Last year Fox also reinstated an additional line of tuition support for high-achieving sophomores and juniors with unmet financial need. In addition, the Commonwealth of Virginia provides $3,400 for undergraduate students that attend private universities through the Tuition Assistance Grant.

With MBU’s undergraduate tuition at $30,690, and the average aid package providing about $22,000, Mary Baldwin’s cost remains competitive with Virginia’s public colleges and universities.

For the second year in a row, a record number of students are applying to and making their tuition deposits at MBU. This past fall, MBU enrolled its largest first-year class of residential students, and so far, the university is on track to surpass that number.

The 2019–20 tuition freeze applies to all MBU students with the exception of modest increases for graduate students in the physical therapy, occupational therapy, and physician assistant programs.

Founded in 1842, Mary Baldwin University is a small, coeducational university offering a range of degree programs from bachelor to doctoral. It serves a vibrant student population on its main campus in Staunton, Virginia, at its nearby health sciences campus in Augusta County, online, and through regional advising centers throughout Virginia.