Benedict College, the historically Black educational institution in Columbia, South Carolina, announced that it is slashing tuition and fees by over $5,800 for the 2018-19 academic year. For full-time boarding students, tuition and fees will be $22,800 for the 2018-19 academic year, compared to $28,630 this year. For non-boarding students, the costs will drop from $19,959 to $16,600.
According to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education, Benedict College enrolls nearly 2,300 undergraduate students. African Americans are 99 percent of the student body. Some 98 percent of all Benedict students receive some kind of financial aid. More than 80 percent receive federal Pell Grants, which are reserved for students from low-income families.
“We acknowledge that numerous families are challenged with the rising cost of tuition, and we want to do our part to make a Benedict College education both accessible and affordable for our students,” said Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, president of Benedict College. “The marketplace has spoken, and we are listening. We want to ensure the best and brightest students of hard-working families have access to higher education.”