Clarification of Tuition, Room and Board Increases

Blue Tiger Faithful,

Recently, Lincoln University alumni were provided a letter from the LU National Alumni Association that gave misleading information. Our goal here is to clarify the University’s recent decision to increase tuition, room, and board charges for the 2024-25 school year.

Rising costs of doing business has caused the University to adjust its charges once again for tuition, as well as room and board.

Of the thirteen public universities in the State of Missouri, Lincoln University’s 4% increase is in the middle of the range that schools are raising tuition for the 2024-25 school year. Other schools in Missouri’s increased their tuition between 3.5% and 5%.

From a board (housing) rate perspective, Lincoln University has the lowest room rate among public institutions in Missouri for a double occupancy room. This chart details the costs of similar rooms across institutions:

As noted above, Lincoln’s room rate is still the lowest among its peers. Also of importance is Lincoln University’s new food vendor, Sodexo Magic, will begin their operations on our campus this summer. Students that reside on-campus are provided an unlimited meal plan, meaning they can access food beyond the normal three meals a day. Additionally, they will receive “flex dollars” that can be used at new on-campus dining options as part of our contract with Sodexo Magic.

To provide perspective, the difference in cost for being a full-time, in-state residential student for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school year will be:

The LUAA letter indicates that the residential students’ costs are being increased 16%. This is just not true. The total cost of 2023-24 and 2024-25 increases result in the following for each student group mentioned:

You may already know that Lincoln University is investing over $23 million to fully renovate Dawson Hall over the next year. What you may not know is that the State of Missouri does not fund auxiliary projects, like the construction or renovation or residential spaces. Therefore, it is on us as a University to identify funding sources to support such projects.

Upon the completion of the Dawson Hall renovations, we have other residential spaces that need to be updated to meet the expectations of today’s students. Our students have shared with us their expectations related to the cleanliness of their residential spaces. The University’s contract with Sodexo Facilities, which began in 2015, must be modified to increase the number of custodians available to clean the common living areas within the residential halls. This will come with an increase in costs that causes us to raise the room rates to adjust for the difference.

We remain committed to offering a great education at an affordable price, and we keep our students in mind as we make these necessary adjustments. We welcome support for our students and commend those that participated in the recent gift of $50,000 that was divided into $500 scholarships for on-campus students who met certain criteria established by LUAA leadership.

Abraham Lincoln, for whom our institution is named after, once proclaimed, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” That is where our institution finds itself today.

Our alma mater is committed to partnerships with people and organizations that share our commitment to student success, celebrating the diversity that exists on our campus, and bringing people together to assist Lincoln University in its quest to become the very best HBCU that we can be. We hope you will join us in building a better Lincoln University.  

Sincerely,

Gary Hill

Vice President of Campus Culture

Lincoln University of Missouri, a historically Black, 1890 land-grant, public, comprehensive institution, provides a diverse population access to excellent educational opportunities through teaching, research, and extension services within a nurturing, student-centered environment.

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