Springfield, Ohio – For the 2016-2017 academic year, Wittenberg will freeze its tuition, room, and fees for all students, a decision that was approved by the university’s Board of Directors during its fall meeting. The decision marks the fourth year in a row that the nationally ranked liberal arts institution, which currently enrolls 1,811 traditional undergraduate students, has moved in this direction.
“There are two ways to help students afford a college education,” said Randy Green, Wittenberg executive director of financial aid. “One is through grants and scholarships, while the other is achieved by controlling the amount students must pay. The latter approach benefits the entire student population.”
Wittenberg’s tuition, room, and fees will remain at 2012-2013 levels for all students, while the university continues to provide more than $37 million in scholarships and financial aid. Board will increase slightly only to match increased costs nationally. Currently, more than 95 percent of students attending Wittenberg receive financial support, and the amount of grant students receive from Wittenberg varies based on the results of the FAFSA form.
“By having a zero percent increase in tuition, Wittenberg is actually better able to provide the financial support our students and families need, while also continuing to ensure that students graduate in four years compared to the five or six years on average it takes at some public institutions,” Green said. “We want to get our students out the door in four, so they can begin to make their unique impact on the world.”
Founded in 1845, Wittenberg University is dedicated to intellectual inquiry and wholeness of person within a diverse residential community. Reflecting its Lutheran heritage, Wittenberg challenges students to become responsible global citizens, to discover their callings, and to lead personal, professional and civic lives of creativity, service, compassion and integrity.
Wittenberg offers more than 60 majors, minors and special programs and has been ranked in the top 20 nationally in five categories: Most Accessible Professors (2013) Best Classroom Experience (2011), Professors Get High Marks (2011, 2010), Campus Beauty (2010) and Involvement in Intramurals (2010) by The Princeton Review. The University also boasts the highest number of Ohio Professor-of-the-Year recipients among four-year institutions in the state, and is recognized as one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright Scholars among bachelor’s institutions, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Seventy percent of Wittenberg graduates pursue post-graduate study within five years of graduation, and all students participate in community service and leadership development.
Wittenberg is also home to the men’s basketball program with the most wins in NCAA Division III history, in addition to the football program that was the first in the division to reach 700 all-time victories and still ranks second on the wins list. Wittenberg, which offers 24 varsity teams with the addition of men’s volleyball in 2015, has won five NCAA championships (2 men’s basketball, 2 football and 1 women’s volleyball), in addition to three national poll titles in football in the 1960s. Since 1989, when Wittenberg joined the prestigious North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), Tigers teams have collected 89 league championship trophies, and the university has finished in the top 100 (out of more than 430) in the NACDA Directors’ Cup in 15 of the 19 years of its existence.
