Ohio State proposes tuition guarantee for 7th consecutive year (2024)

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees this week will consider setting rates for tuition and fees for the 2024-2025 academic year. The proposal includes continuation of the university’s Ohio State Tuition Guarantee, a program that provides cost certainty in tuition, housing and dining costs for new, in-state students for four years.

The university proposes to increase tuition and fees for incoming Ohio freshmen by $385 starting in autumn 2024, or 3% more than last year’s rate. Paired with the tuition guarantee – which locks in tuition, housing and dining costs for each of a student’s four years on campus – the effective annual tuition increase is 0.75%.

Ohio State evaluates tuition and fees annually and sets rates based on program needs, changes in costs and market data. The proposed increase is below the national annual increase in inflation of 4.1%.

Tuition and fees support the university’s academic excellence and core mission to provide a comprehensive, inclusive and affordable education that prepares the next generation of leaders and engaged citizens for the workforce of tomorrow and to serve the state, the nation and the world.

Ohio State offers a world-class education at a lower cost than the majority of peer institutions. For Ohio students, the university is the second most affordable of any school with a selective admission process in the state. In the expanded Big Ten Conference, 10 of the 18 schools are more expensive than Ohio State, putting the university in the top half for affordability.

The university expects to distribute more than $465 million in financial aid in fiscal year 2024, in total. Since fiscal year 2015, $305 million in additional need-based financial aid has supported more than 45,000 low- and moderate-income Ohioans. More than 70% of undergraduates receive an average of almost $12,000 in grants, aid and scholarships. This includes the Ohio College Opportunity Program administered by the Ohio Department of Higher Education, which features a maximum grant award of $3,200.

The university’s commitment to affordability is having an impact. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 58% of Ohio State’s bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with zero student loan debt. For the 42% who leave with debt, it has declined from $27,000 on average five years ago to less than $25,000. Ohio State’s percentage of students who leave with no debt is 20% better than the U.S. average.

Some additional details:

• In Columbus, in-state tuition and fees would total $13,244 per year for incoming first-year students. The most common housing and dining plans will total $14,810 under the proposal, an increase of about $428 year-over-year. Housing and dining rates remain frozen for those in the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee.
• General graduate tuition and fees would increase by 3% for Ohio residents – a change of about $404 for students on the Columbus campus.
• In-state tuition and fees for incoming students would be $9,488 for the Lima, Mansfield, Marion and Newark campuses and $9,441 at the Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, a 3% increase.