Jefferson Reporter

College tuition fees rose 3.4% in Jefferson County in the 2022-23 school year, according to the latest disclosure from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Data shows that students paid $12,406 on average to attend higher education courses at the time, $412 more than the previous school year.

Among the 13 institutions in the county, Samford University stood out with the highest tuition fees, reaching an average of $36,725. Birmingham-Southern College followed with an average of $21,250 per year. Lawson State Community College students were offered the lowest annual tuition fees at $5,072.

At the time, a total of $58 million in grants or scholarships were awarded to full-time undergraduates who started at the Jefferson County universities in the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, federal student loans reached $14.8 million.

Currently there are 13 higher education institutions in Jefferson County, including Herzing University-Birmingham, Lawson State Community College, and Strayer University-Alabama.

Undergraduate education costs have seen a significant increase over the past few decades. Data shows a 169% rise in the average total cost, including tuition, fees, room, and board, between 1980 and 2020.

According to a 2023 College Board report, in-state students at public universities paid an average of $11,260, while out-of-state students paid $29,150 in the 2023-24 academic year.

Meanwhile, student loan debt has steadily increased over the last 30 years, reaching $1.75 trillion in 2024, averaging a total of $28,950 per borrower. Federal loans make up 92% of the debt, with over half of students at both public and private four-year colleges graduating with student loans.

Available data sometimes exceeds 100% due to rounding and administrative calculations.

Institution	Number of Students Receiving Grants	Total Amount of Grants Received	Average Amount of Grant Per Student	Number of Students Receiving Loans	Total Amount of Loans Received	Average Amount of Loans Per Student
Brown Beauty Barber School	17	$113,715	$6,689	17	$149,222	$8,778
Fortis Institute-Birmingham	61	$438,844	$7,194	56	$415,937	$7,427
Herzing University-Birmingham	14	$81,995	$5,857	9	$77,927	$8,659
Birmingham-Southern College	244	$3,470,354	$14,223	207	$1,605,439	$7,756
Jefferson State Community College	527	$3,460,263	$6,566	193	$556,249	$2,882
Strayer University-Alabama	0	$0	$0	0	$0	$0
University of Alabama at Birmingham	2,059	$23,333,975	$11,333	1,106	$7,271,857	$6,575
Miles College	288	$2,387,456	$8,290	244	$1,608,015	$6,590
Midfield Institute of Cosmetology	8	$38,351	$4,794	0	$0	$0
Samford University	970	$21,105,096	$21,758	334	$2,808,853	$8,410
Winonah's International School of Cosmetology	34	$162,293	$4,773	28	$143,538	$5,126
Paul Mitchell the School-Birmingham	24	$126,601	$5,275	24	$185,021	$7,709
Lawson State Community College	422	$3,259,376	$7,724	0	$0	$0