In the midst of the current global pandemic and the acts of solidarity towards racial violence in communities across the globe, Florida A&M University has informed students and parents of their newly voted on “reopening plan” for the 2020-2021 academic year. Although, Florida A&M University has made many helpful changes and accommodations for students during this time, out of state students have received the short end of the stick in all of this. Despite the reasonable limitations on in person courses, public events, and college life as a whole, out of state students are posed with the unreasonable task of paying their standard full amount of tuition. 

For those unfamiliar with how much out of state students pay yearly or even per semester, here’s a breakdown:

Undergraduate out of state students are charged $549.80 per credit hour compared to the $151.78 their in-state peers pay. For a student to be considered full time at FAMU, they must take a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester. This adds up to $6,597.60 at the minimum for one semester of education. This does not include additional fees, housing, or meal plans for students. Including tuition and additional fees, tuition for out of state students amount to $17,725 for one semester in comparison to in-state students only having fees that amount to $5,785 for one semester. It is outrageous to expect out of state students to pay that amount with all of the limitations set in place for the upcoming school year. Especially considering that most out of state students will not have their needs for on campus housing met due to social distancing limitations the university must now adhere to. It is also important to be cognizant of the effect this will have on the incoming class of freshmen students, creating an alarmingly large potential for a decrease in FAMU’s out of state student enrollment rate. 

Out of state students would like for the fixed rate of tuition to be adjusted to accommodate the needs of each out of state student during this time. We also ask for the extension of the deadline for the ‘Out of State Waiver’ to be taken into consideration. The COVID-19 pandemic transcends fixed tuition rates. This is something we have yet to see before, therefore it should not be treated as a “normal” issue.