Emory & Henry University will reset its tuition effective fall 2026 in an ongoing effort to attract more students.
The private university in Emory will lower its published undergraduate tuition from nearly $40,000 to just under $20,000, according to an announcement Tuesday.
The published lower tuition will better reflect what students typically pay after scholarships and financial aid are applied, the university said in a press release. Scholarships and need-based aid will still be offered to students, which will further reduce the cost of attending, the announcement said.
“We know that cost is a major factor when students and their families are deciding where to invest in higher education, and many times students make decisions on whether to explore schools based on published price alone, not knowing the actual cost to attend can often be much lower,” President Louise Fincher said in a statement Tuesday.
By lowering the published tuition price, the school hopes to show more prospective students that attending E&H is financially possible, Fincher said.
The new tuition will go into effect in fall 2026.
Undergraduate housing costs about $6,000 to $10,000 per year, and meal plans add another $6,000 to $7,000 annually for residential students.
E&H enrolls about 1,100 undergraduates and around 230 graduate students annually.
It is the latest school in the region to reset its tuition to attract applicants. The “sticker price” for an institution is often far higher than what most students who attend actually pay due to the variety of financial aid options available. By resetting tuition, a school can appear more accessible to students who might otherwise be scared away by that high price tag.
One review of college sticker prices by the Brookings Institution found that only 16% of students enrolled in private nonprofit institutions paid the advertised price for tuition. Meanwhile, 26% of in-state students at public colleges paid the sticker price.
Fincher said in the release that the move reflects the university’s ongoing efforts to “evolve to meet the changing needs of higher education, students and our region,” including the move to Division II athletics, transitioning to university status and realigning academic programs to fit workforce needs.
E&H is currently on probation by its accreditor, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, through June 2026.
SACSCOC monitored E&H for two years for financial compliance elements of accreditation before placing it on probation in late June. The university said at that time that it had already taken major steps to remedy its compliance issues, including addressing a $7.5 million budget deficit.
The university said on a frequently asked questions page on Tuesday that enticing more students to attend E&H would help strengthen the university’s finances.
Some critics in the higher education space view tuition resets as a gimmick that doesn’t have a lasting impact. But smaller, regionally known universities sometimes have better success attracting applicants in the years following a tuition reset than their nationally known counterparts, according to a 2023 analysis by higher education consulting firm Kennedy & Company.