Bethel University announced Monday that it will reduce its base tuition by $18,000 for new and continuing undergraduate students starting fall 2025.
The private, Baptist Christian university in Arden Hills is lowering tuition from $44,050 to $25,990, effective for all students in the College of Arts and Sciences starting in the fall 2025-2026 semester.
The college says the move has been taken to “bring much-needed transparency and clarity around the true price of attending Bethel.” It says that the majority of enrollees qualify for discounts and scholarships that significantly reduce the cost of tuition anyway, and by reducing the base price it will remove confusion for prospective students and families.
“College pricing has become increasingly unclear, and many students don’t understand how much they will pay until very late in the process,” it said. “With this new approach to tuition, Bethel will be better aligned with its institutional values and will push back on what has become the industry standard: increasing list prices and providing significant price discounts traditionally labeled as scholarships. ”