Samford University's trustee executive committee approved the 2013-14 tuition and fee schedule during a Feb. 26 meeting in Birmingham.

Undergraduate tuition for full-time students will be $12,764 per semester, a 3.9 percent increase over the 2012-13 tuition of $12,285. This is the lowest percentage increase in undergraduate tuition in more than 25 years.

Tuition in Samford's undergraduate Evening College and Cumberland School of Law will not increase. Tuition in all other graduate and professional degree programs will increase 5 percent over 2012-13 rates.

Housing rates for undergraduates will range from $1,829 to $3,975 per semester, based on residence facility, and includes the new West Village planned for completion in summer 2013. Meal plans will range from $1,134 to $2,100 per semester, based on the plan selected. The 12- and 7-meals per week plans are unchanged from 2012-13 rates.

"We have been very cautious and deliberate in our discussions about costs of attendance and how those impact our students and their families. Additionally, we have been very intentional in reviewing all of our expenses and finding ways to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible without diminishing the level of service that our students and families have come to expect ," said Harry B. Brock III, Samford vice president for business and financial affairs.

Samford's tuition is about 13 percent below the national average for private, four-year institutions.

Brock noted that tuition and fees cover about 70 percent of the actual per student annual cost. "Fortunately, an improving economy has provided increased investment income to help offset some of our increased operating expenses," he added.

The undergraduate campus life fee for full-time undergraduate students will increase to $250 per semester for full-time undergraduate students to cover on-campus health services and enhanced cocurricular and extracurricular services for students, according to Brock. Brock described the health services component, a partnership with Birmingham-based St. Vincent's Health System, as a "significant benefit" for students. The university's state-of-the-art clinic provides a physician and other health services staff available to students and employees.

The university-wide technology fee will increase $15 per semester to $150. The technology fee covers campus-wide wireless access, computer labs, printing and technology support services for students, Brock explained.

The campus life and technology fees were eliminated for Jan-term and summer sessions.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.