Grand Canyon University freezes tuition for sixth straight year

PHOENIX, Oct. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Grand Canyon University has announced that it will freeze on-campus tuition costs in 2014-15 for the sixth straight year.  Tuition for online students also will remain unchanged for the next academic year.

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GCU's annual tuition rates will remain at $16,500 for all current and incoming students – a figure that has remained constant since 2009. Most GCU students pay far less for tuition, thanks to extensive academic, athletic and transfer scholarships. With these scholarships, the average GCU student pays $7,800 per year in tuition – a figure comparable to public state universities and well below other private universities.

"We have made it a point to keep our tuition costs affordable while providing a private, high-quality, Christian education," said Brian Mueller, president and CEO at Grand Canyon University. "These measures allow more students the opportunity to receive a college education, both on our vibrant ground campus and in our engaging online academic programs."

From 2009-12, GCU invested $308 million in capital expenditures in the university – well above its after-tax income of $182.5 million during that four-year period. An additional $100 million in capital expenditures is earmarked for 2013-14.

"All of the improvements we have made at GCU – new classrooms and dormitories, new laboratories, new academic programs, a new student union and library, an average classroom size of 25 students – contribute to a better educational environment for students," Mueller said. "But we're still committed to keeping our tuition costs low."

Coupled with the annual $7,800 average cost of tuition, students living on GCU's campus in the heart of Phoenix pay an average of $6,500 in room and board, for a total of $14,300 annually. According to the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center, for the 2012-13 academic year, the average cost nationally for undergraduate tuition, fees, and room and board was $17,860 at taxpayer-supported four-year public institutions and $39,518 at four-year private institutions.

Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona's premier private Christian university. GCU is regionally accredited and emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional in seven colleges: the Ken Blanchard College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Theology, the College of Fine Arts and Production, and the College of Doctoral Studies. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs.  The University's curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit www.gcu.edu.

SOURCE Grand Canyon University