Fairmont State is reducing out-of-state tuition and freezing fees for in-state students

FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State University students will get a break next academic year.

The university’s Board of Governors voted last week to freeze in-state tuition and consolidate out-of-state rates for the 2025 academic year.

President Mike Davis previously said there are two tuition classifications for out-of-state students. Potential students in border states had access to the reduced subway fare. Students from other states, including student athletes, were required to pay the higher out-of-state tuition rate.

“Reduce the tuition for every other out-of-state student of West Virginia to the Metro rate so that we have only one out-of-state rate instead of two different rates,” Davis said.

Postsecondary institutions are now competing for a smaller pool of potential high school students who have more and more options. Traditional institutions must become more competitive due to the increasing popularity of technical and vocational education options that allow students to enter the workforce faster and potentially with less debt.

“We have to find a way to be more competitive,” Davis said. “We know that the number of students graduating from high school in the state of West Virginia is declining, so we need more markets where we can talk about how great Fairmont State University is and where we can be more economically competitive.”

Davis hopes the change for out-of-state students can enrich the student population across the board. New fees could give the institution national appeal and bring more students to the community who could become future permanent residents.

“This will also benefit our athletic programs, our band, our debate teams and programs that we will be recruiting from across the country,” Davis said. “It doesn’t just bring in extra students; it will bring in students with specialties.”

Thanks to the university’s continued strong year-on-year financial position, the BOG can take the step with confidence. Davis said the move significantly improves their affordability on a national scale.

“Before this move, we were cheaper than the 74 universities east of the Mississippi that are public institutions,” Davis said. “Now there are 175 that are cheaper than east of the Mississippi.”

Out-of-state students will no longer pay more than $5,000 per year more than Metro rate students, and tuition for out-of-state students paying $7,000 less than the Metro rate will not increase.

“We are not a for-profit institution, so our goal is to provide students with an excellent education at the lowest possible cost while still operating a top university,” Davis said.