SC college students had their tuition frozen this year. Can they count on that to continue?

For the last several school years, South Carolina’s colleges and universities have frozen tuition rates for in-state students.

But to continue keeping tuition rates steady for the 2023-2024 academic year, the state’s colleges are asking lawmakers to allocate $78 million more in annual money, according to budget requests.

During 2022-23 budget discussions, lawmakers allocated $55 million to freeze tuition rates for in-state students at South Carolina’s four-year and two-year colleges and universities.

The requests for the upcoming budget come as lawmakers are expected to have $3.5 billion of surplus money to allocate during the budget process this spring. Of that amount, $754 million is expected to be annual dollars, which can be used for ongoing costs such as programs or salaries.

The University of South Carolina’s main campus in Columbia is asking for the largest chunk of tuition mitigation money, requesting $29.5 million.

It’s more than the $19.1 million the Legislature allocated USC this academic year to cover a portion of increases in state salary and benefits costs, and to keep tuition frozen. The school said it requested a larger amount this year due to inflation.

USC, which has frozen tuition for four straight school years has yet to determine whether it can do so again next year.

“We’ve worked successfully with the governor and the General Assembly in recent years to ensure affordability for students and families, which helps increase the number of degree holders in South Carolina,” USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said. “Our hope is to keep tuition steady for a fifth consecutive year. We will know if that’s possible in coming months.”

The College of Charleston has requested $5 million to cover the increased cost of operations, rather than asking specifically for tuition mitigation.

Mike Robertson, the university’s spokesman, said the school’s request assumes operational and labor costs will continue to increase.

“(The budget request) is also based on the assumption that the tuition mitigation proviso will continue for in-state undergraduate students,” Robertson said. “Our request is not specifically tied to a mandate to not raise tuition but assumes this will be the case.”

South Carolina State University, the state’s only public HBCU, also did not specifically request tuition mitigation money, but asked for $4.19 million to increase scholarships at the school.

“We consider tuition mitigation and scholarship dollars for high-performing students as two different support efforts,” said Gerald Smalls, S.C. State’s chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration. “Tuition mitigation supports our broader effort to support affordability, while our scholarship effort is targeted at specific students’ needs.”

Smalls said S.C. State, which has received tuition mitigation money from the Legislature the past three years.

“The university has not increased tuition in recent history and has no plans to raise tuition in the near future,” Smalls said.

State colleges’ tuition money requests

Here’s how much public colleges and universities have asked for to keep tuition rates affordable for in-state students.

▪ Medical University of South Carolina: $6.8 million

▪ The Citadel: $2.9 million

▪ Clemson University: $12.1 million

▪ Coastal Carolina University: $4.9 million

▪ Francis Marion University: $2.5 million

▪ Lander University: $2.6 million

▪ South Carolina State University: $4.19 million

▪ College of Charleston: $5 million

▪ University of South Carolina: $29.5 million

▪ USC Aiken: $1.2 million

▪ USC Beaufort: $800,000

▪ USC Lancaster: $323,000

▪ USC Salkehatchie: $200,000

▪ USC Sumter: $294,000

▪ USC Union: $183,000

▪ USC Upstate: $1.7 million

▪ Winthrop University: $2.75 million