To help address student financial needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Towson University has taken a number of steps — from providing access to emergency funding to freezing tuition at the prior year’s rate.
Following an announcement in June by the University System of Maryland, tuition, fees, housing, dining and parking rates were frozen for the 2020-2021 academic year, equating to $1,015 in savings for in-state undergraduate students, and $1,931 in savings for out-of-state undergraduate students.
Graduate in-state tuition is being lowered $21 per credit, with the average nine-credit course tuition and fees reduced by $195.
Over 6,700 TU students have already received more than $7.6 million in grants from The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. An additional $1M is set aside for students with needs in the current academic year.
Federal, state and TU funded aid has increased by $16.9 million since 2015. The total number of students receiving need-based grants in the last five years has increased by 12%. The need-based grant dollars awarded to students in the same time frame has increased by $16,952,551—a 37 percent increase.
TU Student Affairs has awarded nearly 1,000 emergency grants to TU students, totaling more than $282,000 since April 1. Applications are still being accepted for grants toward expenses like food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and more. More than 1,500 donors contributed nearly $180,000 to the fund from July 2019 to June 2020 — most of them given between April and June of this year. Additionally, the TU Foundation supported the fund with a reallocation of $100,000 for student emergencies.
This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland and Culture of Philanthropy.
