Saint Mary's Newsroom

Faculty and staff,

We wanted to share the following communication about tuition, which is being shared with students in Thursday’s newsletter.

Students,

We wanted to give you as much advance notice as possible regarding tuition costs for the 2021-22 academic year. In order to maintain the quality of our academic programs and services to you, Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees has approved a small increase in tuition at both the undergraduate level and Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP). After much planning and taking into consideration increases in contract rates, technology costs, and non-reimbursed expenses due to COVID-19, the tuition and fees structure for the new academic year are as follows.

Undergraduate College

Tuition and room and board charges for next year will increase by 3% for the Winona Campus undergraduate College. No other fees will change at this time.

With the new increase, tuition will be $38,780, an increase of $1,130, and comprehensive tuition and fees will total $39,330. Room and board charges will be $9,920. The tuition for our PA program will be $42,640, a 3% increase.

In alignment with our commitment to keeping tuition costs reasonable and competitive, we, along with the Board of Trustees, are careful stewards of our financial resources and are committed to goal 5 of our strategic plan: Steward Resources: create long-term financial stability through improved enrollment, efficiency, strategic partnerships, and philanthropy.

Saint Mary’s remains focused on providing a quality education at a great value. In fact, our value compares favorably when reviewing tuition and fees at other private institutions in Minnesota. For example; the comprehensive tuition and fees at College of Saint Benedict is more than $17,000 higher; Saint John’s University and University of Saint Thomas close to $17,000 higher, and the College of St. Scholastica more than $7,000 higher.

Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs

At the graduate level, tuition rates per credit will increase by an average of 2.8%, with individual program ranges increasing between 0% to 5.8%. The individual program rates are detailed online.

The university will also add a $100 per term technology fee for SGPP students to cover technology investments such as increased Wi-Fi accessibility, more comprehensive tech support for students, and a more functional and mobile friendly learning management system. This change will be effective summer 2021 term, beginning May 2021. The fee would not apply to doctoral students who are enrolled with the status of “dissertation only.”

Saint Mary’s continues to be committed to keeping SGPP tuition rates accessible for working adults and more affordable than most competing institutions. Also, given the pandemic, we are fully aware of and sensitive to making education affordable to students who may be experiencing acute financial challenges.

As part of our Lasallian Catholic mission, we remain committed to all students with the goal of providing a quality education that is accessible, affordable, and focused on outcomes. Thank you for being a valued member of the Saint Mary’s community. Our best wishes to you for a successful spring semester and throughout your studies with us.

Current and new fees have been updated on the following webpages:

• Undergraduate tuition and fees
• Graduate tuition and fees
• Bachelor’s completion tuition and fees 
• All program and undergraduate major webpages

If you have additional questions, email studentcentral@smumn.edu.

It’s Monday morning, and before we start looking ahead to all the Cardinal action this week, here’s a quick look back at last week, which included action in men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s hockey.