Money graphic. - Graphics Editor / Brendan Cohen
At the Board of Trustees’ annual tuition hearing on March 11, the board confirmed a rise in tuition and fees for the 2025-2026 school year.
“Tuition for undergraduate students will increase by no more than 4.5 percent, while fees will increase by no more than 6.7 percent, which includes increases in the SGA fees and wellness fees supported by SGA,” said Rowan president Ali Houshmand, announcing the upcoming rises in Rowan’s pricing at the beginning of the meeting.
In addition to the increases detailed above, Houshmand continued to announce that tuition and fees for medical students at CMSRU and Rowan-Virtua SOM will increase by no more than three percent, graduate tuition will increase by no more than five percent while graduate fees will increase by no more than eight percent (with the increase in graduate fees being directly attributed to the implementation of a $50 per-semester wellness fee). Housing rates are expected to rise by no more than three percent, while the average meal plan rate is anticipated to increase by no more than 4.5 percent.
“Over the last four years, we have experienced unprecedented inflation both nationally and globally,” said Houshmand, explaining the increase, “in FY 26 [the 2026 fiscal year] the university has pledged 2.6 million in the student emergency fund and a total distribution support for the students is increasing for over ten million over the last year. That means this year, we are returning back to the students $12.6 million, and the total amount of tuition increases that I just mentioned for undergraduates and graduates comes to about $12 million, so we are returning more to the students than we are taking.”
Following the announcement, the Board opened the floor to students who signed up to speak their concerns on the tuition increase, allowing the Rowan students affected by the price increase to vocalize their concerns and reactions to the increase to the Board of Trustees themselves.
“I’m here today because a tuition increase wouldn’t just impact me, it would impact countless students who are working hard everyday to make their education possible,” said Isaac Jean-Baptiste, a junior education major, “I transferred here in fall 2023 because it was affordable … we are all here working hard to set ourselves up for success, but we can’t do that if we’re constantly forced to pick up more and more hours at work just to stay at Rowan.”
“For me and countless others, higher education is more than just a degree, it’s a lifeline, a beacon of hope, and a chance to break cycles of struggle that have defined our past,” said Carolina Silva, “raising tuition is not just an administrative decision: it is a decision that carries real consequences for students, families, and for the future of our country. It means forcing students to take on even more debt, pushing some to work extensive hours just for four classes, and worst of all, it means some will be forced to abandon their dreams altogether.”
Multiple students also criticized the Board for what they perceived as poor communication in the buildup to the hearing.
“If this was a meeting that was supposed to happen, I would’ve appreciated the communication being a little bit better,” said Nija Spencer, “I found this out at ten o’clock this morning, and here we are at 4:09. I feel like if we’re gonna have conversations like this as a student body … the students need to be told in advance, so we’re not all scrambling trying to figure out how we can have our voices to be heard in such a short amount of time.”
Houshmand responded directly to critiques of the hearing’s publicization, saying “we did make the announcement about the tuition hearing I think about a week ago, we put it in newspapers and in their emails, and I understand no amount of communication is enough, but it’s not as if that we just told them at ten o’clock, that’s not the case.”
Houshmand insisted that the increase was in the best interest of the students.
“Every year, the university set aside a certain amount of money that we give back to the students in the form of scholarship aid based on their income, and this year we had to increase that by ten additional million dollars because there are more students,” said Houshmand, “and then on top of that, based on that increase in tuition and fees that we just proposed, I went to the board and sought permission to add an additional $2.6 million from that raise that we can give to the emergency fund.”
Additionally, Houshmand cited broader economic conditions as a reason for the increases, saying “it’s not as if that I, or any one of us want to balance our budget on the back of the students, that’s the last thing we want to do, but it’s really hard to want to manage to run the school these days … that steel tariff alone, the next building you wanna build for the College of the Humanities and Social Sciences, it’s gonna increase the thing by at least $40 million. Where do you get that money from?”
“I have friends who already struggle to pay their housing, already have debt, really can’t afford their textbooks,” said sophomore Bridget Fellona, “I just think it’s gonna make it harder for everyone to continue to be in college … you don’t even know if we’re gonna be able to pay for it.”
“I’m fearful that an increase in tuition prices will be a detriment to the student body,” said sophomore Nicholas Sorce, “many students can already ill-afford current costs around university, and a tuition increase will only enlarge this disadvantaged group.”
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