Falcon Tuition Guarantee FAQ
The Falcon Tuition Guarantee provides all undergraduate, first time students and their families the certainty that tuition, room and board, out-of-state surcharge, special purpose fees, and course and class fees will not increase over the four academic years at BGSU. The Falcon Tuition Guarantee provides transparency and predictability about the cost of attending BGSU.
All incoming students are a part of a cohort. A cohort is the group of students part of the incoming class. The Falcon Tuition Guarantee applies to each cohort. Students can find their cohort by logging into their MyBGSU>Student Center>My Account.
The Basics
Final Tuition and General Fees are typically passed by the Board of Trustees in June for the following academic year. For a list of approved fees, please visit: www.bgsu.edu/bursar/tuition-and-fees.
The program covers Tuition (Instructional and General Fee), on-campus housing (room) and meal plans (board), special purpose fees, and course and class fees*.
*Course and Class Fees for high cost programs such as travel, aviation, program fees, study abroad and other high cost, pass through program fees are not included in The Falcon Tuition Guarantee.
For undergraduate first time students, the four academic years of The Falcon Tuition Guarantee includes twelve consecutive semesters, four fall, four spring and four summer semesters. The four-academic year period is guaranteed regardless of enrollment status (full, part-time or not enrolled).
Students can find their Falcon Tuition Guarantee expiration date by logging into their MyBGSU>Student Center>My Account.
Beginning with the 2018 – 2019 academic year, The Falcon Tuition Guarantee will apply to all undergraduate first-time students, transfer students* and international students who enroll in a degree seeking program at BGSU’s BG Campus.
*Students transferring from one of Ohio’s public community or technical colleges will be assigned to the lowest unexpired Cohort for the remainder of that Cohort. The Cohort will be designated based on the earliest date of enrollment as a full-time undergraduate student at the qualifying institution.
All other fees, fines and costs related to attending Bowling Green State University not specifically identified as part of The Falcon Tuition Guarantee are excluded from the guaranteed price and are subject to price change. These exclusions include, but are not limited to: parking permits, workshops, student health insurance, international student service fee, Fly Program fee, Optional Fees (legal, green & media), textbooks and class materials and course and class fees for high cost programs (travel, aviation, program fees, study abroad). While such costs are excluded, Bowling Green State University seeks to limit increases to the extent feasible.
The tuition rate is guaranteed for four years. However, full time students who enroll in more than 18 credit hours in a semester will pay additional tuition at the Cohort surcharge rate for every additional credit hour over 18 credit hours per semester. Part-time students pay instructional fees on a pro-rated, per credit hour basis at their Cohort rate.
Students who do not complete their undergraduate degree requirements within their Cohort period will automatically be placed into the Cohort that went into effect the year after their assigned Cohort (Cohort +1). The student will remain in that Cohort for up to one year and if still enrolled after that Cohort expires, will be placed into the next Cohort (Cohort +2) for the next year and so on until the student is no longer enrolled.
Students who for circumstances beyond their control cannot finish within their Cohort period may appeal to have their Falcon Tuition Guarantee Cohort period extended. Circumstances include illness or injury not including COVID-19, enrollment in a degree program requiring more than 128 hours to graduate, called to service in the United States Armed Services and victim of violence or crime while enrolled.*
Falcon Tuition Guarantee Appeal Form
*If a student is unable to graduate on time due solely to a documented lack of course availability, the University will provide the necessary course or courses to the student tuition-free.
Student Types and Falcon Tuition Guarantee
The Falcon Tuition Guarantee is only available only to degree-seeking, first-time students. However, when you become admitted as a full time student, you will be assigned to the appropriate Cohort group.
Students who enroll as part-time, degree-seeking undergraduates will pay a prorated per-credit rate based on The Falcon Tuition Guarantee rate. Students receive four academic years (twelve consecutive semesters) at The Falcon Tuition Guarantee rate whether they are enrolled part-time or full-time.
The Falcon Tuition Guarantee is not available to non-degree-seeking students. This includes conditionally admitted students such as students enrolled in College Credit Plus, incoming exchange students and other students participating in other pre-enrollment or postsecondary option programs. However, at the point in time you become a full time student, you will be assigned to the appropriate Cohort group.
Students will continue to be permitted to enroll in courses on both the Main and Firelands campuses during the same academic term, and tuition for these courses will continue to be based on the student’s primary campus. Students enrolled primarily on the Main Campus under The Falcon Tuition Guarantee will pay tuition based on The Falcon Guarantee rate for all courses no matter the campus up to the full-time rate (12 credit hours for any courses enrolled on either the Main or Firelands campuses. Students whose campus of registration is Firelands will pay Firelands Campus tuition.
Students who officially withdraw from all of their BGSU semester courses can retain their original Cohort rate if they re-enroll the next semester; however, the semester does count as one of the of the twelve consecutive semesters at The Falcon Tuition Guarantee rate.
When the student re‐enrolls, if the Cohort period has not lapsed since the student’s initial degree-seeking enrollment, then the student can retain her or his original Cohort rate for the balance of the Cohort period. If four or more academic years have passed, then the re‐enrolling student is assigned to the oldest unexpired Cohort.
If four academic years have not elapsed since they first enrolled, students relocating from the Firelands Campus to the Main Campus will be assigned to a Cohort based on the date they first enrolled on the Firelands Campus. If four or more academic years have elapsed, the relocating student is assigned to the oldest unexpired Cohort on the Main Campus.
Yes. Summer semesters are included in the twelve consecutive semesters.
First-time students entering a degree program during a spring semester will pay the rate in effect for that academic year for twelve consecutive semesters.
First-time students who first enroll at BGSU in the summer semester will pay the newest Cohort rate for that semester, but will be assigned to the entering semester Cohort that immediately follows.
No. The Falcon Tuition Guarantee is available only to undergraduate students.
Students studying abroad will retain their original Cohort tuition rate. However, the semesters in which you are enrolled in these programs count toward your twelve-semester total.
Only students accepted into the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Programs will be offered the undergraduate tuition rate until their Cohort period expires. Here is a list of the designated Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Programs. Following the expiration of their original Cohort, tuition for graduate level coursework will be assessed at the current BGSU Main Campus Graduate rate applicable to the program of study.
Updated: 11/01/2022 08:31AM