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Lowering Tuition to Expand Opportunities

Letter from the President

Dear College Community,

At Colby-Sawyer College, we encourage our students to make a difference and discover their potential to build a better world. We hold ourselves to the same standard — and today we are taking an exciting and bold step toward building a better, more accessible college by guaranteeing that all four-year undergraduate students will start with a tuition price of $17,500 in 2023-24. This will reduce the published cost of attending Colby-Sawyer (which includes room, board and the comprehensive student services fee) by more than 45% — a change from more than $63,500 to approximately $36,000 using 2022-23 costs.

It’s no secret that the cost of higher education has become untenable. For decades, we have worked to ensure that students and families do not bear the full burden of that cost. In fact, 100% of our currently enrolled students receive financial assistance. However, many prospective students and families don’t know that, and our published tuition price of $46,364 prevents them from considering Colby-Sawyer at all.

Our high listed price means we often don’t get the chance to tell prospective students about our financial aid programs, much less help them become students who find their voices, develop their passions and become active learners and confident scholars, artists, writers, scientists, critical thinkers and community leaders. Our published pricing can also cause confusion or stress for current students who may worry about cost and aid packages from year to year. 

Following several years of strategic planning, we are removing that barrier. We are stronger financially than we have been in recent history — we have operated under a balanced budget the past four years and will exercise the same financial responsibility moving forward. Our donors have shown their belief in our strategic direction and in the educational experience we provide with record levels of giving, including the largest gift in the college’s history, and our endowment has nearly doubled in recent years. By guaranteeing a new tuition of $17,500 for all students, we are able to ensure that the transformative experience we provide is possible for any student who is a good academic fit and wants to call Colby-Sawyer home.

It’s clear, it’s transparent and it creates a better Colby-Sawyer College for our current and future students.

Kind regards,
Susan D. Stuebner Ed.D. 
President & Professor of Social Sciences & Education