Georgian Court Freezes Undergrad Tuition For 2020-2021

LAKEWOOD, NJ — Georgian Court University is freezing undergraduate tuition for the 2020-2021 school year, the university announced Monday.

The decision to freeze tuition at the 2019-2020 rates was made at the April 17 board of trustees meeting, said Gail Towns, university spokesperson.

The tuition freeze is designed, in part, to address the needs of the New Jersey community, as more than 90 percent of Georgian Court's students live in the state. New Jersey has been hit hard economically by the shutdowns in the wake of the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Georgian Court, like colleges across the state, shifted its courses online and will conduct summer courses online as well. The May 20 graduation ceremony will be held virtually, with a live commencement ceremony on campus planned for sometime in the fall, most likely on an October weekend, the university has said.

Georgian Court's published tuition in the fall of 2019 was $32,050, and 99 percent of all full-time students received some form of financial aid. The average annual overall cost to undergrads is about $22,000, according to the federal College Scorecard.

"Georgian Court has a longstanding commitment to affordability and accessibility," said Joseph R. Marbach, Georgian Court president. "We are doing everything we can to meet the needs of students, including holding tuition and continuing with generous financial aid."

"The tuition freeze really is about doing the right thing, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Robert Mulcahy, chair of the Georgian Court board of trustees. "Forty percent of our students are first in their families to attend college, and 43 percent come from lower-income families. As a values-driven, Catholic university, we want to do all that we can to help students realize their dream of earning that first degree."

"There are many uncertainties and difficulties ahead," said Chris Krzak, Georgian Court vice president for enrollment management and retention. "It’s important that students and their families know that they can count on the university to be there for them, academically and financially."

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