COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – The University of South Carolina will study the possibility of charging different tuition for different majors. President Harris Pastides told the USC Board of Trustees this week he can see charging lower tuition for some majors whose graduates will earn less, like history majors, while charging more for majors that cost more to teach and will earn more, like engineering, nursing, and business.
USC student Emma Young says, “Since I’m an education major, if it cost less for me to attend school that would be great. But I also see the problem with people who did want engineering, things that would cost more money, it might turn them away from that field.”
About 150 public colleges and universities nationwide already charge more for some majors, including the University of Michigan. It found that it did have fewer engineering and nursing majors after raising tuition for those programs.
Loucas Anagnostou, a graduate student in Economics, says he plans to go into business. He says some business people have undergraduate degrees in history, which might get lower tuition, while business majors pay more. “I think judging the tuition fees, charging higher tuition fees based on the major is not a good criterion, because you never know what that person’s going to end up doing in his life,” he says.
President Pastides says if USC does move ahead with the proposal, it might not take effect for several years.
