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Guaranteed Tuition Option

The deadline to enroll in the 2017-2018 Guaranteed Tuition Option was July 31, 2017.

Enrollment for the 2018-2019 Guaranteed Tuition Option will open June 2018.

Baylor University's Guaranteed Tuition Option offers students the opportunity to lock in a four-year tuition rate instead of paying the regular tuition rate, which is subject to increase annually. Participation in the Guaranteed Tuition Option eliminates uncertainty about the cost of tuition, and it allows students and families to more accurately prepare their educational budgets.

The 2017-18 Guaranteed Tuition Option is designed with the intention of providing a material discount to undergraduate students who elect to participate. The actual value of the benefit will depend on how tuition rates are set by the University over the next three years, but an undergraduate's savings is projected to be $2,000-$3,000 over the four-year enrollment period. A student must maintain enrollment at Baylor in each of the fall and spring semesters for four consecutive years to realize the full value of the discount. Students in need of more than four years to complete their Baylor education will be charged tuition at the University's regular rate in the fifth year and in any subsequent years.

2017-18 Tuition Rates

Undergraduate students enrolling full-time (12 hours or more) in the fall of 2017 will be charged one of the following tuition rates:

  Semester Rate Annual Rate
Regular Tuition Rate $19,805 $39,610
Guaranteed Tuition Option $20,530 $41,060

Undergraduate students who lock in the guaranteed rate but enroll in fewer than 12 hours in a fall/spring semester will pay an hourly rate of $1,711 per hour. Students who complete their undergraduate degree and continue their graduate studies at Baylor will also pay the hourly rate of $1,711 per hour during fall or spring semesters within the 48-month period. The guaranteed hourly rate for summer terms is $1,283 per hour (first effective summer 2017). Students will be charged the regular tuition rate if no election is made.

Graduation Success Resources

This video series, hosted by Dr. Blaine McCormick, Associate Professor - Management & Entrepreneurship in the Hankamer School of Business, is designed to provide food for thought when planning for your college experience.

Additional financial and graduation success resources are available on our Financial Foundations webpage.

Election to Participate

Enrollment in the Guaranteed Tuition Option is now closed.  During the enrollment period, students may enroll by logging into BearWeb > Student Financial Services > Student Account > Guaranteed Tuition Option.

The deadline to elect the 2017-18 Guaranteed Tuition Option was July 31, 2017 (fall financial settlement deadline).

By electing to participate in the Guaranteed Tuition Option, students choose to pay a tuition rate which is initially higher than the regular rate. However, the guaranteed tuition rate is fixed and will not increase over the 48-month enrollment period. While no promise is made regarding any future tuition increases, the guaranteed rate is expected to result in material savings at the end of four years.

A student must maintain continuous enrollment at Baylor (summers optional) to realize the full value of any discount. A student who graduates and continues his/her graduate studies at Baylor during the 48-month enrollment period will continue to be charged tuition at the guaranteed hourly rate during the period.

Cancellation

Enrollment in the Guaranteed Tuition Option may be canceled at any time by providing written notice to the Cashier's Office by email at Cashiers_Office@baylor.edu. Notice received within the first two weeks of a semester will terminate the election effective that semester. When notice is received after the first two weeks of a semester, termination will become effective (and the student will be charged the regular tuition rate) beginning the following semester.

Historical Tuition Rates

Baylor University's regular tuition rates for the last several years are provided below:

Academic
Year		 Flat Tuition Rate Hourly Tuition Rate Annual % Increase
2017-18 $39,610 $1,650 4.25%
2016-17 $37,996 $1,583 4.50%
2015-16 $36,360 $1,515 5.45%
2014-15 $34,480 $1,437 5.85%
2013-14 $32,574 $1,357 6.50%
2012-13 $30,586 $1,274 6.50%
2011-12 $28,720 $1,197 6.50%
2010-11 $26,966 $1,124 6.50%

In academic years prior to 2014-15, the Guaranteed Tuition Option existed only as a budgeting tool and did not project any discount for participation.

PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

2017-18 Guaranteed Tuition Option participants must acknowledge the following:

  1. Participants will be charged the 2017-18 guaranteed tuition rate during the 48-month period beginning in the fall of 2017 and ending in the summer of 2021.
  2. No discount or savings has been promised or guaranteed by the University.
  3. While the University’s intent is for the 2017-18 Guaranteed Tuition Option to provide students a material discount over a four-year enrollment period when compared to the regular tuition rates, the existence or value of any discount will be dependent upon how tuition rates are set by the University over the next three years; no promise has been made by the University regarding any future tuition rates.
  4. Students may cancel this election only by submitting a request in writing to the Baylor University Cashier's Office. Notice of termination received within the first two weeks of a semester will become effective that semester; notice of termination received after the first two weeks of a semester will become effective the following semester.
TERMS OF ENROLLMENT

By electing to participate in the Guaranteed Tuition Option, the participant(s) and the University agree to the following terms and conditions:

  1. Condition of Effectiveness - To be eligible for the Guaranteed Tuition Option, the student must meet the University policies and procedures for admission. If the student has not been admitted as of the date of any signed Agreement, such Agreement shall not become effective unless and until the student has been so admitted.
  2. Payment - The student shall make payments in accordance with the University payment policy.
  3. Scope of Agreement - This Agreement covers only tuition charges as defined, from time to time, by the University and in no way limits the University's rights in respect of matters, including University charges, not covered hereby. The benefits of this Agreement are not assignable to any other student, nor may they be utilized for any term beginning 48 or more months after the first term of this Agreement.
  4. Refunds - If the enrollment of the student is canceled for any reason (including withdrawal, suspension, or expulsion), the amount of any refund of tuition shall be in accordance with the general refund policy of the University. The University reserves the right to offset any amounts refundable hereunder against any other amounts owed by the student. No portion of the guaranteed tuition rate is refundable in any manner other than as described in the University's refund policy, whether or not the participant is able to maintain enrollment at Baylor during the 48-month enrollment period.

For more information about the Guaranteed Tuition Option please contact the Cashier's Office at Cashiers_Office@baylor.edu or (254) 710-2311.