Holding Tuition in Check for Five Years Running: RWU Extends Unprecedented Tuition Freeze & Guarantee

BRISTOL, R.I., Nov. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the heels of unveiling a new core purpose, core values and university goal, Roger Williams University has once again committed to continuing its Affordable Excellence initiative for both its undergraduate and law students as a proactive measure against increasing costs, rising debt and the job-readiness of graduates, among the most pressing challenges facing higher education today.

At the undergraduate level, this means the University's tuition freeze (which has locked tuition at $29,976 since 2012) and four-year guarantee (which can save students as much as $15,000 by ensuring that tuition will not increase during a student's time on campus) now extend through the 2016-17 academic year.

"As our work continues to actively address the issues that have pushed higher education into crisis, the University remains invested in giving parents and students predictability and certainty regarding the cost of a Roger Williams education," says RWU President Donald J. Farish. "And of equal importance to keeping cost in check, we are creating more opportunities for learning that take students out of the classroom and into the community, where they develop applicable skills for great jobs and great lives."

For Roger Williams University School of Law students, the continuation of Affordable Excellence means the 18-percent tuition reduction (to $33,792) implemented for the 2014 academic year now extends through 2016-17, along with RWU Law's three-year tuition guarantee. Together, the reduction and guarantee translate to some $30,426 in savings over the course of three years – and it has singled out RWU Law as the best-priced, ABA-accredited private law school in the Northeast.

"We're giving our students what they need, which is a high-quality, hands-on legal education at an affordable price," says RWU Law Dean Michael J. Yelnosky. "We've disrupted the market on law school tuition by positively addressing the tough environment that today's law students face upon graduation, from availability of traditional law jobs to diminishing starting salaries. By not only lowering the cost and locking it in upon enrollment, but also reducing student debt loads and guaranteeing practical experience beyond the classroom, we have created a major incentive for our current and prospective law students."

Today's announcement comes in the wake of Roger's Revolution, which the University unveiled earlier this semester – a bold initiative that in the next three years promises to:

• provide 100 percent of RWU graduates with the opportunity to receive vitally important workplace experience;
• generate 2,100 skilled and job-ready workers through the School of Continuing Studies;
• develop hundreds of new partnerships with businesses and community groups throughout the region;
• and open a vital new Providence campus as part of RWU's expanding presence and long-held commitment to the state's urban core.

"When we launched Affordable Excellence in 2012, it was the just the first step toward confronting the issues of cost, debt and job-preparedness facing today's college students and their families," Farish says. "Roger's Revolution is an ambitious effort to build upon the success of Affordable Excellence and put forth tangible goals with the collective force of the entire University – students, faculty and staff – to enact meaningful change for the state of Rhode Island and beyond. And it all stems from our bold new core purpose: to serve society through engaged teaching and learning."

SOURCE Roger Williams University

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