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Tucker says University will not increase tuition as a result of COVID-19 challenges

LIVINGSTON, Alabama—The University of West Alabama’s proposal to freeze tuition for the coming year has been approved by its board of trustees. The decision comes as part of the board’s approval of the school’s operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

In a time when colleges and universities face particularly uncertain enrollment numbers and revenues in the wake of a pandemic, administrators say the tuition freeze marks UWA’s commitment to providing an affordable education while effectively managing resources.

“We want to make a high-quality educational experience as affordable as possible and for as many students as possible,” said UWA President Ken Tucker. “As a public institution, we also have an obligation to operate as efficiently and responsibly as we can, and we believe that we’ve outlined a budget that will meet all of these needs.”

Tucker noted that continued unpredictability and challenges loom for most higher education institutions, but that UWA is committed to keeping students on track in their educational pursuits despite the economic woes students and their families inevitably face following recent unemployment spikes.

“We strive to manage a budget that puts as little financial burden as necessary on students and their families,” Tucker explained. “We began a process to ‘tighten the belt’ several years ago, and we are seeing positive results from these efforts. This has been done primarily through maximizing operational efficiency, expense reduction strategies, and revenue enhancement initiatives. This is the third year in a row that tuition rates have not increased.”

The tuition freeze was part of the fiscal year 2021 budget approved by the UWA Board of Trustees on June 1. The $80.3 million budget represents operations and maintenance, auxiliary, and restricted funds.