After many schools paused tuition increases during the pandemic, most Alabama colleges are returning to rate increases.

About a third of Alabama colleges froze tuition prices through the height of the pandemic, but few of those schools proposed continued freezes for the current year, an AL.com analysis found.

AL.com analyzed 10 years of undergraduate tuition data from the National Center for Education Statistics, as well as recent tuition and fee data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

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At least 21 schools kept tuition the same from 2019 to 2022, our analysis found. At least eight other schools froze tuition for part of the pandemic, but raised rates at one point during that time period.

Most of the colleges that froze tuition were public and private four-year universities. All four-year historically Black colleges and universities – with the exception of Selma University, which did not report tuition rates from 2020-22 – froze tuition during that time period.

Two-year tuition is typically more variable, and in most places, it rose slightly until 2021, when officials announced a yearlong freeze. Federal data shows that many community colleges actually decreased tuition in that time period.

“This year has been difficult for many Alabamians, and access to education and skills training shouldn’t be something that makes it harder,” Chancellor Jimmy Baker of the Alabama Community College System said in a May 2021 news release, noting that freezing tuition would “expand opportunities for coursework and training to help Alabamians build a better future.”

Below is a list of colleges that did not change tuition prices from the 2019-2020 school year to at least 2021-2022:

• Alabama A&M University
• Alabama State University
• Amridge University
• Heritage Christian University
• Herzing University – Birmingham
• Jacksonville State University
• Marion Military Institute
• Miles College
• Oakwood University
• South University – Montgomery
• Stillman College
• Strayer University – Alabama
• Talladega College
• The University of Alabama
• Tuskegee University
• United States Sports Academy
• The University of Alabama at Birmingham
• The University of Alabama in Huntsville
• University of Montevallo
• University of North Alabama
• University of West Alabama

Of those 21 schools, at least eight continued to freeze tuition this year, AL.com found.

Current federal figures aren’t yet published, but a statewide survey from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education shows that three public schools on the list – Alabama A&M University, The University of Montevallo and The University of West Alabama – continued to freeze undergraduate tuition and fees in 2022-23.

A look at school websites also showed that at least five private institutions on the list froze tuition this year as well. Those colleges include Tuskegee University, Talladega College, Stillman College, Miles College and Heritage Christian University.

Current tuition and fee data wasn’t listed or was unclear for some other institutions.

‘Strategic’ decisions

Troy University announced tuition freezes this year and in 2019 and 2020, but increased prices in the 2021-22 school year, marking one of the highest price jumps in the state that year, according to federal data.

Officials say the rate change coincided with the launch of a new price structure that eliminated several fees.

“Even with the increase in tuition, we think that many students were seeing very similar overall costs due to the elimination of so many fees,” a spokesman told AL.com. “Our hope is that students and parents will find this new pricing structure more transparent.”

The University of North Alabama also announced a change to its pricing structure in 2018-19, moving toward a “banded tuition” model that allowed students to pay a set price for a capped number of courses, rather than paying by credit hours.

The Board of Trustees froze tuition that year, then increased it to a new rate, which it kept until 2022-23.

UNA officials say the recent increase, by about 5%, will offset inequities in state support and that they will help make up for the jump by providing more scholarships.

“We take this decision thoughtfully, carefully and strategically,” UNA President Dr. Ken Kitts said in a news release last summer. “While we have made real progress through Project 208 to secure additional funding from the state, we still receive less support than our peers on a per-student basis. I commend and thank the Board of Trustees for its vision and leadership on this important matter.”

What’s next?

Next year’s outlook is tough to tell; AL.com could only find one college that has announced rates for the fall 2023 semester.

Faulkner University, a private religious school in Montgomery, announced in January that it will freeze fall 2023 tuition in an effort to “provide some relief” to families.

This would be the school’s first freeze in at least a decade: Faulkner has steadily increased tuition from $15,730 in 2013 to $21,500, federal data shows.

Public university tuition rates for the upcoming school year are typically announced at some point in the spring or summer semester.