Stillman College, the historically Black educational institution in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has announced that it will significantly reduce the cost of enrollment in an effort to attract more students.
In a statement to the college community, Peter Millet, president of Stillman College said that the annual cost of tuition and room and board would be reduced from $22,500 to $17,500 beginning in the fall.
“You should be able to go to school without going into the proverbial poorhouse,” Dr. Millet said. Dr. Millet as been president of Stillman College since last July. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Ohio State University.
Stillman College is taking a calculated risk. Let’s do the math on a simple basis. The latest U.S. Department of Education figures show 863 students enrolled at Stillman. If they all pay $22,500 by some means, this produces revenues of just over $19.4 million. If the same number of students paid $17,500, $15.1 million in revenue would be raised, creating a shortfall of $4.3 million from the previous level of revenue. To make up for this shortfall, another 245 students would have to enroll and pay the $17,500 in tuition and fees.
Of course, this simple calculation doesn’t take into account the added expenses of having another 245 students on campus. So an even greater increase in the number of students would be needed to make the new cost plan beneficial to the college.
Wow, this out-of-the-box thinking takes courage. I certainly hope it works. We need our HBCUs.