The net price calculation is designed to give students a better idea of what they will pay out-of-pocket for college and includes the annual total costs of tuition, books, fees, room and board minus the average financial aid.
Miami tops the list of Ohio schools as the fifth most expensive for net price in the nation.
“That is really surprising,” said Noelle Bernard, a Miami University senior majoring in English. “I don’t understand why it is so high. It’s not like we are offering something other schools don’t have.”
University of Cincinnati, Ohio University, Ohio State University, Shawnee State University and Kent State University were also on the list of 32 schools with net prices between $24,192 and $15,948.
The average national net price per year is $10,747.
Miami spokeswoman Claire Wagner defended the university’s cost, pointing to the schools high graduate rate of 81 percent and a median time to graduation of 3.7 years as proof of value. Most students also receive some financial aid, scholarship or grants, she said.
“We believe the value of a Miami University education is one of the best in the nation because our students graduate on time and are exceptionally well prepared with skills sought after by employers and graduate programs,” Wagner said. “Miami’s unwavering commitment to student success and continued investment in academics and support programs prepare Miami’s graduates for future success.”
Kim Norris, spokeswoman for the Ohio Board of Regents, said credit transfer agreements between cheaper two-year community colleges and four-year universities help keep the total cost of degrees low. “That is not possible in all states,” Norris said. “We are extremely affordable and flexible.”
Bruce Johnson, president of the Inter-University Council, which advocates on behalf of universities, said the number of Ohio schools on the list of highest net price was not unexpected due to a history of declining state support per student enrolled.
“It is not a surprise to me — Ohio being in the bottom 10 in state support — that we are in the top for tuition,” Johnson said.
The overall cost of educating a student in Ohio is near the national average, Johnson added. “The problem in Ohio is the student bears the majority of the costs.”
That trend is worrisome to students like Bernard who thinks it could impact the diversity of students on a campus like Miami. She expects to have accumulated $30,000 in debt, roughly $5,000 more than the national average, when she graduates in 2012.
“It’s a public school and should be more accessible to people,” Bernard said. “It sounds like we are a public Ivy League school and it looks like we have an Ivy League price tag.”
All of Ohio’s four-year public universities except Central State University, which receives special subsidies, have net costs above the $10,747 national average. No four-year Ohio school made the list of the cheapest universities.
Keith Ralston, Wright State University associate vice president for budget planning, said the university has fought to keep costs affordable to every type of student, something that has become more difficult in recent years. Wright State had a net cost of $15,179 in 2009, the same year as the rest of the federal data, $4,126 less than Miami.
“We’ve been sensitive to students and how much they can afford to pay,” Ralston said. “We are generating less revenue than our peers and still giving a quality education.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@coxohio.com.
About the Author