Alabama’s colleges and universities found themselves grappling with massive budget shortfalls between 2008-2017 when the state cut per-pupil funding by more than 30%. To close the gap, public institutions across the state raised tuition, some by as much as 60%. A recent State Higher Education Finance report found that by 2021, the net tuition revenue in Alabama had ballooned to twice the national average, reflecting the limited resources available to higher education institutions throughout the state.
Alabama State University, founded over 150 years ago as the first state-sponsored higher education institution for Black students in Alabama, faced a particularly acute challenge. Alabama State enrolls more students from low-income backgrounds than any other higher education institution in the state, and any increase in tuition would undoubtedly impact those students. The institution was stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the end, Alabama State was forced to increase its tuition. In the wake of these state policy changes, enrollment dropped by double digits, with more than half of students who left citing the tuition increase as a primary cause, according to an on-campus survey.
When Dr. Quinton T. Ross, Jr. joined the university as president in 2017 (after the tuition increase), he immediately moved to stabilize tuition to maintain affordability. But tuition is only part of the revenue picture for any institution. Recruiting and retaining students also needed to remain a top priority. “We needed to revamp how we’re doing our [enrollment and retention] work,” said President Ross. Alabama State realized that new strategies and tools were likely needed to meet its enrollment goals.