ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia University in Saint Paul is doing something that's practically unheard of these days. The university is cutting tuition by $10,000 annually.
Tuition at Concordia this year is almost $30,000. The cut brings that price tag down to $20,000. Officials say the hope is to make college more affordable for all families, but the catch is that financial aid will also get cut.
Last year, Concordia awarded more than $12 million in financial aid. Those dollars will be stretched once the tuition drop goes into effect next year.
Just how big a hit a student's financial aid package will take, school officials aren't saying, but Concordia's president did say the new tuition price more accurately reflects the actual cost to attend.
The hope is the trend downward will continue and help students earn a degree.
"We absolutely hope that this tuition announcement will help students persist to graduation," said Rev. Tom Ries, Concordia University President. "When we have students that leave the university because they're no longer able to continue toward their bachelors primarily the reason they give is financial, I cannot afford to continue going to college and we're going to do our part to help make sure that we can raise that persistence to graduation."
The school's president also says nothing will be cut from the classrooms. In fact, they added eight new faculty members this year and plan to add more.
The average tuition for a private college in Minnesota is $42,000.
Concordia hopes other universities will follow in dropping tuition.