Taylor University is learning to balance rising tuition costs with accessibility as national costs of education rise.
In fact, for the past four years, tuition and fees rate increases here have been an average of 3.5 percent or 1.4 percent lower than the 4.9 percent national average, Robert Sommers, executive director of Financial Aid Office, said.
“It (increasing tuition costs) is pretty standard as you look across institutions,” Sommers said.
Taylor has had about a 25% increase in tuition cost all totaled during the past 10 years, he said. It comes out to $900 yearly increase for this time period.
However, Taylor is still in line with what other institutions are charging, Sommers said.
The national average tuition for the 2024-2025 school year was approximately $27,100 for an in-state, public four-year institution, according to College Board Research.
Out-of-state tuition for public institutions averages around $49,000.
Taylor’s tuition and fees increased 2.9 percent, from $40,490 in 2024-25 to $41,674 for current 2025-26 school year.
Tuition and fees for a private four-year institution in the 2024-2025 year was around $63,000, College Board said. This would include larger private universities such as Notre Dame, Harvard, Yale and others that charge more for tuition than the average of $63,000.
The average increase in tuition and fees sits at roughly 4.9% for the years 2022 to 2025, according to the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).
Comparing that to Taylor, the percentages for those years were at around a 3.5% increase, Sommers said.
A noticeable factor in this was the decision in 2023 to begin charging a J-term fee.
However, that is not the only reason why tuition increased at Taylor.
“The expectations that students have on what the college provides has changed significantly,” Sommers said. “Things that they need for extracurricular activities such as events, working out and so forth, has changed and the cost of those things have increased.”
Taylor has not increased tuition costs for profit, but to provide what the students need, Sommers said.
Taylor is continuing to grow in numbers, which affects cost rates as well, he said.
“More students, more demand, more people, more costs,” Sommers said.
As costs for education climb, Taylor aims to balance accessibility and financial sustainability for the growing student body.
echo@taylor.edu
