Grand Canyon University Freezes Tuition for Seventh Straight Year

Grand Canyon University has announced that tuition for the 2015-16 school year will remain the same on its west Phoenix campus - the seventh straight year it has frozen tuition.

Tuition will remain at $16,500 per year for current and incoming students, a figure that has not changed since 2009. However, more than 90 percent of students receive institutional scholarships that drastically reduce that cost. In the fall of 2014, students paid an average of $7,900 after scholarships - a figure that is on par with state universities and well below other private universities. That total does not include federal aid such as pell grants and subsidized student loans, which lowers students' out-of-pocket expenses further to an average of $3,489 per year.

GCU's room and board costs, which start at $6,050 per year, are also well below the national average. According to the College Board, the average cost of room and board in 2013-2014 ranged from $9,500 at four-year public schools to $10,830 at private schools.

"Keeping tuition affordable is the utmost priority for us," said Brian Mueller, president and CEO of Grand Canyon. "We have experienced a lot of growth and invested hundreds of millions of dollars into our campus, but we've been able to do that without raising tuition and with no subsidies from Arizona taxpayers."

Grand Canyon has invested 150 percent of its after-tax profits back into the university since becoming a publicly traded company in 2008. The coming year will be its biggest construction year yet as the school anticipates a record incoming class that will raise enrollment to 15,000 students in 2015. The university is adding four new six-story residence halls, a third parking garage, an engineering building, a classroom building that will be home to a music recording studio on the fourth floor, a soccer stadium, two intramural fields and several new retail dining options.

"All of these additions contribute to a better educational environment for students and enable us to keep the average classroom size at 25 students," Mueller said. "At the same time, we're still able to keep our tuition costs affordable."