Fairleigh Dickinson University — in an effort to make its two New Jersey locations more affordable in these tumultuous times — announced Tuesday it is dramatically lowering the cost of its tuition.
The school, which has campuses in Florham Park and Teaneck, said full-time students in fall of 2021 will have a new base tuition of $32,000. That figure is approximately 25% percent lower than this fall, when the base tuition was $43,654 at the Florham campus and $41,154 at the Metropolitan campus in Teaneck.
Room and board at both locations was approximately $14,000.
Of course, those figures do not include potential grants or merit scholarships. School officials said FDU routinely provides generous financial aid packages, especially to those coming from lower-income households.
FDU also will extend its current tuition freeze for all returning students for the 2021-2022 school year, marking two consecutive years of no tuition increase.
FDU President Chris Capuano said the tuition reduction is another critical step in the school’s broad-based effort to address college affordability and make an FDU degree more attainable. The bigger goal, Capuano said, is to find a way to let more people know that FDU is affordable.
“Many students and their families recognize the value of an FDU education, but understandably don’t believe they can afford the tuition,” he said. “By reducing our tuition and bringing greater clarity to the actual cost of attending Fairleigh Dickinson University, we are removing significant obstacles and putting attainability of an FDU degree within reach of a wider range of individuals.”
Earlier this fall, Capuano talked with ROI-NJ about the school’s desire to expand its access, especially when it comes to underserved communities.
The undergraduate tuition reduction is one of several initiatives aimed at improving student success and increasing access and affordability to an FDU education, the school said.
It follows on the heels of FDU’s restructuring of graduate tuition in the spring of 2020 that reduced the cost of many programs. Additionally, FDU provided significant discounts for the 2020 summer school session and is offering similar discounts for its upcoming winter session courses, giving students the opportunity to accelerate their degrees at a reduced rate.
The benefits of an FDU education recently received recognition in U.S. News & World Report, ranking No. 16 in Best Value Schools and among the Top 50 Regional Universities in the North, rising more than 30 spots in the last five years. The school was also ranked by Money magazine among the nation’s Best Colleges for Your Money.
