In an effort to improve what it calls “pricing transparency”, Bethel University is changing its tuition model, cutting it by more than $18,000 in the process. 

On Monday, Bethel announced that beginning in the fall of 2025, the cost of tuition in the College of Arts and Sciences would drop from $44,050 to $25,990.

“We’re changing the trend and saying, let’s just make it simple and clear,” Ross Allen, Bethel University president, said. “We certainly know that there are students today that rule out of college strictly because of the sticker price,” he added. 

But Allen says that “sticker price” isn’t what students end up paying, mainly due to scholarships and financial aid – avenues the university says some families have trouble navigating.  

The university is also calling it “tuition repositioning” and hopes to be a trendsetter for the industry. 

“We want them to have all the facts on the table right up front,” Paul McGinnis, Bethel University’s vice president of marketing and enrollment. 

“I’m so tired of hearing students that are either first [generation] students, or maybe underrepresented backgrounds, that don’t know the higher [education] game, and they look at our sticker price, and they’re like, ‘there is no way I can afford a private education,'” McGinnis added. 

“This is life-changing education that I have seen, and even in my career, people’s life trajectories change with a college degree, and yet we’re playing these pricing games,” McGinnis said.

The school also provided an info-graphic to describe their tuition repositioning. 

Located in St. Paul, Bethel is a Christian university that had more than 3,700 students in the fall of 2023. Over the last decade, the university’s enrollment numbers have been declining each year. 

“It has gotten so confusing for families that we want to make it simple and help them make that decision,” President Allen said. 

The new tuition rate kicks in for all new and continuing undergraduate students starting next fall. 

Scholarships and federal aid will also be available for students who need additional financial assistance.

As current students’ tuition is decreased, their financial assistance packages will be revised in line with the new tuition rate. The University added that with this, students won’t see their total costs exceed what it would have been with the previous tuition cost.

According to the school, this is its latest move to provide high-quality, accessible and attainable education. Other steps include:

• Broadening PSEO and early college offerings
• Expanding programs such as internships, experimental learning and mentorships through the Office of Career Development and Calling
• Integrating Cultural Intelligence curriculum
• Expanding program offerings in high-demand academic areas
• Renovating teaching and learning spaces